February 2019 - 56

Growers say KDL helps
defang Jack Frost's bite.
®
Cold Climate grape cultivars are helping
growers build a robust wine and tourism
industry across many states, but this is
a viticulture that requires a well-planned
strategy for frost protection. Whether the frost
arrives late in the spring as it did in 2012 or
early in the fall as in 2011, growers know the
risk is there.
Each year more growers are learning that
Agro-K's KDL®
(Potassium Dextro-Lac®
) 0-024
doesn't just dramatically enhance brix,
color development, and uniform maturity when
applied at about veraison. They also have seen
how applying KDL®
a few hours ahead of a
frost can provide a buffer against the impact of
those often devastating temperature dives.
KDL's unique formulation links potassium
to a molecular sugar complex that can
quickly penetrate plant tissue to increase
potassium and sugar levels within the plant.
This temporarily puts the plant into a more
" winterized " or hardened mode so tissue
is better able to survive cold temperatures,
explained Larry Shafer, Agro-K Vice President.
Here is what the growers have to say.
We're a small estate winery, so our crop is
everything and losing it would be devastating.
Agro-K rushed me some KDL and I applied it
ahead of the frosts that reached 25 degrees
on April 10 and 27 degrees on April 11. I
ran out midway down the last row. After
the freeze the treated vines were absolutely
perfect but the untreated vines all had brown
leaves. Extension horticulturists took photos
the next day and growers who came by later
couldn't believe how good our grapes were.
We even had 35 to 40% more grapes this
year. KDL saved us from disaster.
John Burns, Barrel Head Winery
Dubuque, Iowa
untreated
treated
When the frost of September 15, 2011 hit,
my 3,000 grape vines were vulnerable to
damage, so I sprayed them with KDL about
12-15 hours before the frost. I walked into the
vineyard about 5 a.m. and the temperature
was 28 degrees. We have two adjacent blocks
of Marquette grapes, and since one of them
was still a year from meaningful production,
we did not treat it with KDL. There was no
appreciable frost-related damage to the
treated vines, but there was total loss of
leaves on the untreated vines. We were able to
keep the treated block of grapes healthy and
picked a good crop three weeks later. "
Don Dinesen, Calisota Vineyards
Cannon Falls, Minnesota
After two killing frosts had hit us along
about April 10-11, we were down to two
buds per shoot. We found out about KDL
and applied it 24 hours ahead of another
frost that came on about April 19 with
a temperature of 26 degrees. But this
The frost protection we had with KDL was
phenomenal. In April we had one day at 26
degrees and two days at 27. We applied KDL
along with Sysstem™
time there was no bud loss or damage
whatsoever. Instead we had primary buds
on new growth and fantastic bloom and fruit
set. We carried 6 to 10 tons of grapes per
acre and feel we were very fortunate.
Dick Faltz, Fox Valley Winery
Oswego, Illinois
quality yield with higher brix. A growing
season that appeared in jeopardy turned into
a dream growing year.
Gary Balcome, Spring Creek Vineyard
Millville, Minnesota
We had two nights with temperatures in the
lower 20s. I had sprayed KDL with SysstemCAL.
The grass looked dead and you could tell
every step I took walking out to the tractor. But
when it was over we had a little damage, but
it really wasn't bad. Considering the frosts and
the drought, I am happy with the yield. The
fruit was in excellent condition and the winery
was happy with them. The vines look very
healthy, with green foliage.
Don Beyer
Mitchell, Iowa
-CAL 24 hours in advance
of each frost. Some young non-bearing vines
were not sprayed and froze down to the
ground. Everything we sprayed was relatively
unscathed. It was a day-and-night difference.
Eric Nelson, Oak Creek Vineyards
Raymond, Nebraska
If we had not used KDL we would have lost a
significant amount of our 2012 crop when the
frosts hit in April. KDL saved the Frontenac
Gris, which has been our money crop. The
Marquette and the Chambourcin definitely
benefitted from the KDL. The table grapes are
in the lowest area of the vineyard and are the
most sensitive. They showed the strongest
visual effect of the KDL.
Scott Ellenbecker, Round Lake, Minnesota
Round Lake Vineyards
For more information contact:
Jeff McClellan
Agro-K Eastern Sales Mgr.
814-574-5663
AGRO-K CORpORAtiOn
We sprayed KDL before frosts in early April
and afterward found there were only two
plants in the whole vineyard with some
damage. I feared we would lose hundreds of
plants. Instead we had increased flowering
and more fruit set, and larger, premium
8030 Main Street, NE * Minneapolis, MN 55432
800-328-2418 * www.agro-k.com
Science-Driven NutritionSM
KDL is a registered trademark and Sysstem-CAL is a trademark
of Agro-K Corporation. © 2018 Agro-K Corporation.
http://www.agro-k.com
February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019
