On August 8, 2023, a severe hailstorm hit Grace, Idaho, flattening many crops and fields, including the two potato fields shown below.
After the storm, one of the farmers applied Stress-Off and Bulk-R to his damaged field. His neighbor just across the lane did nothing. Ten days later, the following pictures were taken.
Treated with Stress-Off and Bulk-R | Untreated |
When a plant is damaged or stressed, it enters a “hyper” survival mode, much like human adrenaline reactions. In this heightened state, the plant soon wears itself out and dies, even as it tries to survive.
Stress-Off is designed to slow down the plant metabolic systems following damage, allowing it to rebuild at a more measured pace without causing further harm or damage to itself. The Bulk-R increases photosynthetic capacity, further aiding the plant’s ability to heal itself. Stress-off was applied at 1 quart/acre with the Bulk-R at 2 quarts/acre.
Note: Bulk-R is typically used to increase the tuber size in potatoes, however, since this is a seed-potato field they don’t need the larger size. They used ½ of the standard Bulk-R rate (2 quarts instead of 4 quarts) to increase photosynthetic capacity without pushing too much size on the potatoes.
The results speak for themselves, with the treated field recovering quickly and projecting a normal harvest, while the untreated field is dying with little prospect of recovery.
Have your fields received hail or herbicide damage?
Call us today at 435-753-2086
and let us help you recover them!