With all the hard work that a citrus farmer face daily, the last thing he wants to worry about is losing a year’s harvest to sunburn. Sunburn can damage up to 70% of a fruit crop so badly that it must be sold for around 10% of the fruit’s actual value.

Damage to vegetable and fruit crops due to heat stress increases annually. These losses can be greatly reduced by spraying the fruit with agents developed to prevent sunburn, and thanks to a progressive company like Dux Agri that produced a product such as Eckosil, these worries are a thing of the past.

Farm carefully

Robert Paterson among his peach trees.

In the heart of Clanwilliam in the Western Cape is a beautiful citrus farm located between the blue mountains and deep valleys. This farm belongs to Robert Paterson, a man who proudly and with a lot of knowledge started small in 1989, and with a lot of patience and persistence built up a nice large citrus farm of 180 hectares, as well as 30 hectares for peaches and nectarines.

Robert shares his insights: “Building a farm from what was originally very little requires patience, blood, sweat and tears, and a little capital, because it doesn’t just happen. Then farm very carefully to make sure you do it right the first time.”

Over the years, Robert has lost citrus because of the brutal sun and the lack of remedies that can prevent sunburn damage on citrus. But now he can count on Dux Agri – a company that supplies natural bio-stimulants, and he is still reaping the benefits.

“Their main product that we use is Eckosil, and we get very good results. There are several sunburn control products on the market, but I believe Dux Agri probably has the best of them. They give very good technical support and therefore we have tested and proved their products, so we support the product with confidence.”

Robert Paterson’s farm right in Leipoldt’s beautiful world in the Clanwilliam area.

The problem of sunburn on citrus

Robert tells more about sunburn on his citrus orchards: “Sunburn is a very important matter, because we have some citrus varieties that burn quite badly, but since we use Eckosil, the amount of sunburn damage is kept to a minimum. We use Eckosil throughout the season to also improve nutrient absorption from the soil, and to give the tree some protection against insects.”

Export citrus must meet a certain standard, or else foreign countries will not buy the products. A farmer wants to try to get his fruit to a class A standard, but sunburn can hinder this. For this reason, sunburn prevention is extremely important.

Eckosil

Dux Agri Eckosil is the solution for the problem of sunburn on citrus.

Eckosil Cuticle Enhancer is a scientifically advanced soluble Ortho-silicic acid formulation specifically designed to mitigate plant abiotic stress, including heat stress, sunburn and cold stress. This involves strengthening plant cell walls and creating double cell layers that greatly improve structural strength and resilience against environmental challenges.

Read more about the product here: Eckosil Dux Agri 

Citrus without sunburn is a sought-after and rewarding export product.

Dux Agri goes the extra mile for their customers

Dux Agri does not only sell top-class products; they spend considerable time on their customers’ farms, make sure the right products are supplied, do constant research and are always available to give farmers the necessary advice.

“They have good products and they offer very good technical support – it is not just a matter of dropping the product on the stoep and disappearing. They did a number of trials on the farm so we know the products work on this farm and in our situation,” concludes Robert.

For more information about Dux Agri, visit their website at https://duxagri.com/.