Scotts Brings New 'Green' Fertilizer to the UK & Appoints Specialist Sole Distributor

In a bid to meet increasing demand for more ‘green’ or environmentally friendly horticultural products, Scotts has brought its Agroblen controlled release fertilizer range into the UK.

As many field-grown crops require some water-soluble feeds to maximise yield, Agrolution – a range of specialist water-soluble fertilizers for soft fruit – will partner these fertilizers. To provide customers with a high level of sales expertise, the company has also appointed crop nutrition specialists OMEX Horticulture as sole distributor for the product range.

Agroblen and Agrolution are widely used in Europe and beyond in markets as diverse as soft fruit, vegetable and forest tree production.

Shaun Cavanagh, Scott’s Business Development Manager, said: “We have joined forces with OMEX because to successfully introduce Agroblen and Agrolution into the UK, the sales force must be both agronomists and specialists in field crops. There are many factors to consider; the products and analyses offered need to take full account of both the residual soil fertilizer levels and the nutritional requirement of the crops to produce optimum performance.

“Similarly the water analysis must be considered, to ensure the fertilizer offered is optimising the availability of the nutrients the crop requires. We are confident OMEX has the expertise to sell these products very successfully.”

The Agroblen approach is to apply a controlled release fertilizer package, specifically designed for base or top dressing, to the root zone. This takes the place of multi season applications of traditionally used compounds of agricultural fertilizers.

Mark Horner, OMEX Horticulture’s joint divisional manager, commented: “In the current climate of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ’s), hazardous chemical reduction and water pollution, these new products are becoming essential tools. Not only will the product be far more precise in its nutrition, but it will also save valuable labour time and environmental pressure in reduced applications, making it a really cost effective alternative.”

The Agroblen range includes products containing both ‘resin’ coated and ‘Poly-S’ coated nutrients, which release in line with crop demand. They are available with release patterns from 2-3 months up to 12-14 months. The range includes products with zero phosphate for soils already high in this nutrient to specialist forestry products, with high phosphate for improved establishment.

The Agrolution range includes the highest levels of calcium available, to ensure that fruit cell walls are resilient to handling problems, so maximising fruit shelf life and fruit quality.