Field Study

Vitazyme on Grapes – 2008, Tulare, California

The highest B and B turnout was for Excite 1-1-17 at 2 and 1 lb/acre (Treatments 4 and 7), at about 44%. Values for all of the other treatments were between about 36 and 41%, with Vitazyme + Excite 1-1-17 at 1 lb/acre giv- ing the lowest B and B grade of 35.7%. Substandards were within a fairly narrow range for all treatments, between 9.2 and 12.4%, the lowest for Excite 1-1-17 (1 lb/acre) and Excite 17-17-17 (4.5 lb/acre), and the high- est for Excite 2-18-36 (4.5 lb/acre).
Conclusion: The results of year six with this raisin vineyard trial near Madera, California, are most interesting due to the following reasons:
1. The best yielding treatment by far was the Vitazyme + AZ41 (Melaleuca + Aloe vera + orange peel) treat- ment, producing 10% more raisins than the next highest treatment. This treatment used no conventional fungicides, yet had excellent fungal control throughout the season and no powdery mildew whatsoever. All other treatments received conventional fungicides.
2. Excite 17-17-17 alone at 4.5 lb/acre produced the lowest yield (3,872.4 lb/acre), being 6% lower than the next lowest yield (Excite 2-18-36 alone at 4.5 lb/acre).
3. Vitazyme + Excite 2-18-36 at 4.5 lb/acre gave the second highest yield, which exceeded Excite 2-18-36 alone by 18%.
4. On the other hand (see point 3), Vitazyme + Excite 1-1-17 at 1 lb/acre gave an 8% lower yield than Excite 1-1-17 alone at 1 lb/acre.
5. Excite 1-1-17 at 1 lb/acre gave a 10% higher yield increase than Excite 1-1-17 at 2 lb/acre; more was not better.
6. Quality of the raisin crop for 2008 was much reduced from previous years due to very hot weather at blos- som and verasion. The substandards and B and B yields varied within a fairly narrow range, with Excite 1-1-17 at both rates producing the highest B and B turnouts.
These results are quite different than those experienced in 2007, when the Excite 1-1-17 at both 1 and 2 lb/acre gave the best yields. This year the 1-1-17 Excite formulation at 1 lb/acre performed better than at 2 lb/acre, but was still below the yield of Vitazyme + Excite 2-18-36 at 4.5 lb/acre, and far below Vitazyme + AZ41. The separation of the sprays of Vitazyme + Excite by 10 to 14 days this year may have helped the activ- ity of both products, since there may be an overabundance of growth regulating substances when both are applied at the same time, confusing the plants’ metabolism.
Vitazyme with Excite 2-18-36 performed much better than Excite 2-18-36 alone (+18%), but Vitazyme with Excite 1-1-17 performed less well than Excite 1-1-17 alone (-8%). The reasons for this reversal are unclear, but the extra nutrients applied with the Excite 2-18-36 may have helped Vitazyme trigger added growth, a nutri- ent interaction effect well-documented with many crops. It would have been interesting to note the effect Vitazyme would have in stimulating growth along with Excite 17-17-17.

Differences in response to Vitazyme for 2008 are likely due to (a) a reduction in carryover effects of Vitazyme for the 2007 cropping years, (b) a separation of the application of Vitazyme and Excite by 10 to 14 days, and (c) a particularly stressful year for grapes, during which Vitazyme effects tended to be more empha- sized. Above all other results for 2008, the Vitazyme + AZ41 treatment holds excellent promise for producing the highest yields of raisins grapes without the use of conventional fungicides, making organic raisin produc- tion at this location a true possibility.