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AgroDex K35 is a 35% liquid potassium concentrate in an organic form, free of nitrate and chlorides. It contains organic acids and natural plant regulators that are rapidly assimilated and translocated through the plant, where they are converted into carbohydrates that promote ripening and fruit filling. AgroDex K35 improves fruit yield, quality, colour, and ripening uniformity, even at low application rates, offering lasting results. It also assists in increasing resistance to light to medium frost, particularly during flowering or in early and late vegetable production. Using the AgroDex formulation system, K35 delivers organic acids, biochar derivatives, seaweed ferment, and amino acids that create a low molecular weight chelation for effective nutrient penetration and plant response.
| Component | % w/v (AUST.) | % w/w (INT.) |
|---|---|---|
| Potassium (as Buffered Carbonate) | 35 | 30.6 |
| Biostimulants (as Organic Acids) | 10 | 7.2 |
| Biochar Derivatives | 4 | 2.9 |
| Seaweed Ferment | 4 | 2.9 |
| *Expressed as K2O | ||
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Colour | Brown |
| Specific Gravity | 1.36 - 1.4 |
| pH | 11 - 12 |
| Available Sizes | 5L, 20L, 200L, 1000L |
| Crop Type | Rate / ha | Dilution | Application Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Crops (Blueberry, Raspberry) | 4 - 6 L | 1:200 | Apply fortnightly at early fruiting for fruit sizing |
| Cucurbits (Rockmelon, Watermelon, Pumpkin) | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply once first fruit appears to improve sizing and colour |
| Fruiting Vegetables (Tomato, Capsicum, Eggplant) | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply once first fruit appears to improve sizing and colour |
| Nut Tree Crops (Macadamia, Almond, Pistachio, Walnut) | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply early to mid nut development |
| Root Vegetables (Beetroot, Carrot, Leek, Onion, Radish) | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply fortnightly at early development for sizing |
| Stone Fruit (Peach, Apricot, Nectarine, Cherry) | 4 - 6 L | 1:200 | Apply twice at early to mid fruiting for sizing and colour |
| Avocado | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply fortnightly at early fruiting for fruit sizing |
| Bananas | 4 - 6 L | 1:300 | Apply twice at early to mid fruiting for sizing and colour (avoid hot, humid conditions) |
| Olives | 4 - 6 L | 1:200 | Apply mid fruit development for sizing and flavour |
| Potato & Sweet Potato | 6 - 8 L | 1:150 | Apply fortnightly at early development for sizing |
| Strawberry | 4 - 6 L | 1:200 | Apply fortnightly at early fruiting for fruit sizing |
| Wine Grapes | 4 - 6 L | 1:200 | Apply fortnightly at early fruiting to increase colour and brix |
AgroDex K35 combines potassium nutrition with natural biostimulants that encourage plant metabolism, sugar production, and nutrient transport. It promotes fruit filling, enhances size and sweetness, and strengthens resistance to environmental stress such as frost. With its organic acids and biochar derivatives, it ensures faster assimilation and improved efficiency within the plant. AgroDex K35 is an excellent option for growers seeking consistent performance and better crop outcomes across multiple fruit and vegetable types.
20 Litre Drum
Dimensions: 280 x 220 x 420 mm
Weight: 30 kg per drum
Notes: Commonly used for smaller batches of olive processing liquids or specialty products. Compatible with most small freight consignments and pallet loads.
200 Litre Drum (on Pallet)
Individual Drum Dimensions: 590 x 590 x 920 mm
Pallet Pack Dimensions: 1200 x 1200 x 1050 mm
Pallet Weight: 260 kg total
Load Size: Same pallet configuration for 1 to 4 drums
Notes: Ideal for bulk olive oil or processing aids. Secured on a standard pallet for improved stability during transport.
1000 Litre IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container)
Dimensions: 1200 x 1000 x 1160 mm
Weight: 1300 kg
Notes: A popular format for large-scale olive oil storage, brine solutions, or wastewater collection. Compatible with forklift and pallet-jack handling.
How does AgroDex K35 improve fruit size and quality?
AgroDex K35 enhances fruit quality through multiple mechanisms:
When used as part of a regular feeding program, AgroDex K35 supports sustained plant energy, improved fruit development, and consistent yields across diverse growing conditions.
| File | Title | File Description | Type | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agrodex_K35_2022.pdf | Agrodex K35 | A highly concentrated liquid Potassium in combination with fulvic and organic acids for fast uptake and translocation, formulated to improve colour, size and ripening of fruit and vegetables. | Catalogue | Document |
A successful Grove Management Plan must cover these key areas:
"A grove without an effective irrigation system is unlikely to deliver consistent yields year after year. Many growers still underestimate the water needs of olive trees, and few actually monitor soil moisture levels. This is why so many groves have never achieved a commercial crop." Marcelo Berlanda Specialist Olive Consultant
Water stress negatively affects flowering, fruit set, oil accumulation (oil production), fruit size (table olives), fruit quality, and overall tree health. However, many growers lack a proper system to monitor soil moisture or manage irrigation effectively.
Marcelo recommends:
"Growers should inspect soil moisture weekly during spring and summer, and every two weeks in autumn and winter. Use a shovel to dig at least 400mm under the tree canopy to check moisture. If the soil is hard to dig, it’s too dry – even if the canopy shows no visible signs of stress."
Advanced soil moisture monitoring tools can also provide reliable data on a digital display or computer dashboard.
For optimal grove health, growers must consistently check soil moisture and prevent water stress.
As discussed previously, taking leaf samples is essential to assess your trees’ nutritional status. This information guides the creation of a fertiliser program, a critical component for boosting or maintaining yields.
Typically, no fertiliser is needed in winter, unless you’re addressing soil amendments. However, some groves have severe nutrient deficiencies requiring fertiliser even in winter. Where proper irrigation systems aren’t in place, growers must broadcast fertiliser before rain to allow rainfall to incorporate nutrients into the soil profile, an inefficient use of resources but often the only option.
When applying fertiliser in these conditions, target the area beneath the canopy and, if possible, cultivate the soil to improve incorporation and reduce product loss.
Olives need four essential nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Calcium. Check product labels carefully. As a general guideline, aim for:
Avoid pruning during the coldest part of winter and when it’s wet or foggy to reduce the risk of bacterial and fungal disease spread.
The main goals of pruning are to remove dead wood, reduce canopy size, restore tree balance, encourage healthy new growth, and increase fruit set in spring.
Tip: After pruning, apply a copper-based spray to protect wounds from infection by fungi and bacteria.
Pest & disease management is crucial for sustaining yield and tree health. Winter’s colder temperatures reduce insect activity, offering a prime time to tackle pest issues.
Set up a comprehensive Pest and Disease Monitoring Program. During winter, check-marked trees (previously affected by pests or diseases) every two weeks; in spring, check weekly. Look under leaves and on new growth for signs like crawlers, yellow spots, black sooty mould, or anything unusual.
Proactive, weekly management is essential for a successful grove.
If you need further assistance, please contact us.
URGENT FERTILISER SUPPLY UPDATE – MAP & DAP SHORTAGE
This summer cropping season is facing unprecedented challenges in fertiliser supply. Availability of MAP fertiliser (monoammonium phosphate) and DAP fertiliser (diammonium phosphate) is expected to remain extremely limited worldwide, with serious implications for growers planning their nutrient programs.
Since 2021, China has imposed strict quotas and inspection rules on phosphate fertiliser exports to protect domestic prices and safeguard food security.
The impact has been dramatic:
Although Morocco, Russia, the USA, and Saudi Arabia also produce MAP and DAP, they cannot offset the sharp drop in Chinese exports.
The result is:
For olive growers and other professional producers, the impacts are already being felt:
Do not wait for traditional ordering windows. Place orders immediately and consider forward contracting for next season. Securing current pricing now helps protect your operation against higher costs and potential shortages later.
AgroBest is an Australian manufacturer with a wide range of crop protection and liquid fertiliser products to help keep your olive trees healthy and productive. This guide gives you a practical overview of the AgroBest range available through The Olive Centre and how they can fit into your nutritional groove program across the season. We’ll walk through foliar feeds, soil conditioners, pest and disease support products, spray adjuvants and biostimulants, explaining when to use and how to help with common olive problems. Whether you’re dealing with nutritional needs or tired trees that just aren’t performing, this guide is designed to help you quickly match the right AgroBest product to the needs of your grove. A soil and leaf analysis is recommended to narrow down the correct product(s).
Foliar nutrition is critical for addressing immediate nutrient needs and boosting olive tree productivity. AgroBest offers several NPK foliar fertilisers and trace element sprays designed for quick uptake through leaves. These products provide balanced macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) often enhanced with micronutrients or biostimulants to improve efficacy.
Healthy soil is the foundation of productive olive groves. AgroBest offers products that improve soil fertility, structure, and microbiology - ensuring roots have access to nutrients and water. These soil conditioners and granular/liquid fertilisers are applied to the soil (via drench, fertigation, or banding) rather than sprayed on foliage.
Using these soil-oriented products, olive growers can address issues like poor soil fertility, low organic matter, or imbalanced nutrients in the root zone. For instance, if an olive grove is suffering from nutrient lock-up or weak root growth, a combination of humic-enriched Kickstart and organic GroMate can rebuild soil life. If soil calcium or pH is an issue, products like CarboCal can supply calcium in a plant-accessible form that strengthens soil and trees alike. Healthier soil translates to stronger, more resilient olive trees with better uptake of nutrients and water.
While AgroBest’s focus is on nutrition, some of its products also play a role in crop protection - either by directly deterring stresses or by strengthening the plant against pests and diseases. Olive growers face challenges such as black scale insects, fungal diseases like peacock spot and anthracnose, as well as environmental stresses (frost, heat) that can predispose trees to problems. AgroBest products can be part of an integrated strategy to tackle these issues.
It’s important to note that AgroBest does not produce synthetic pesticides or fungicides - instead, their offerings focus on prevention and plant strength. For active infestations like a severe black scale attack or an anthracnose epidemic, growers would still use specific registered pesticides (e.g. a petroleum spray or an IGR for scale, or a copper fungicide for anthracnose/fungal issue). However, integrating AgroBest products could mean fewer such interventions are needed. By using nutritionals and protectants like Envy and Spraytech Oil proactively, olive growers can reduce stress and pest pressure on their groves. This integrated approach leads to a more sustainable pest and disease management, leveraging plant health to fight off challenges naturally. Always test product compatibility before mixing.
Adjuvants are “helper” products that improve the performance of agrochemical sprays - ensuring that nutrients or pesticides stick as intended. AgroBest’s adjuvants are especially valuable in olive production, where the undersides of leaves and the waxy surfaces of olive foliage can make spray coverage difficult. Using the right adjuvant means more of your spray actually reaches the target and stays there, rather than bouncing off or drifting away. Two key adjuvant products in the AgroBest range are:
AgroBest AgroChelate - An organic acid concentrate used as a water conditioner, compatibility agent, and nutrient uptake enhancer. Agro “Chelate” is essentially a blend of organic acids and amino acids. When added to a spray tank or fertigation system, it acidifies the solution slightly (bringing pH to a plant-friendly level), chelates micronutrients (preventing them from reacting with other chemicals or getting locked up), and improves the mixing of otherwise incompatible inputs. For example, olive growers often want to tank-mix calcium with phosphorus fertilisers or combine multiple trace elements - this can cause precipitation or antagonism. AgroBest’s Chelate product helps keep such mixes stable and ensures the nutrients remain in a form the plant can absorb. It also acts as a mild biostimulant due to its amino acid content, so foliar feeds with AgroChelate might show improved uptake into leaves. In summary, Agro Chelate is used as an adjuvant to condition spray water (especially if it’s alkaline or hard), to prevent clogging and leaf burn, and to facilitate smooth absorption of nutrients through the leaf cuticle. It’s particularly useful in foliar trace element programs and fertigation systems. (Available in liquid form; e.g. 5L and 20L containers.)
Using adjuvants like these is highly recommended in olive spray programs. Olives have small, waxy leaves and a dense canopy; getting sprays to penetrate and stick can be challenging. By using Spraytech OIL, growers report more uniform coverage and better results from both pest control and foliar feeding efforts (the improved uptake means you might achieve desired results with lower application rates, saving cost). Similarly, with AgroBest’s chelating adjuvant, complex tank mixes become more stable - meaning you can, for instance, mix your zinc, boron, and magnesium foliar feeds with confidence that each will remain available to the tree. In sum, AgroBest adjuvants ensure you get the maximum benefit from every spray, an important consideration given the time and cost involved in spraying an olive grove.
Biostimulants are products that don’t fit the traditional “fertiliser” mould of simply providing N-P-K, but instead contain natural compounds (like seaweed extracts, humic acids, beneficial microbes, etc.) that enhance plant growth and resilience. AgroBest has embraced this technology by offering several biostimulant products that can give olive trees an extra edge - improving root growth, boosting stress tolerance, and increasing nutrient uptake efficiency. These are especially relevant to olives, which often face stresses like drought, high salinity, and poor soils.
By integrating biostimulants into their regime, olive growers can tackle challenges like nutrient-poor soils, irregular bearing, or climate stress in a more natural way. For example, facing a scenario of “off-year” in an alternate-bearing olive grove, one might apply SeaFil or Fulfil to reinvigorate the trees and potentially improve the next bloom. In drought-prone areas or saline irrigation conditions, biostimulants help olive trees maintain growth and yield where they otherwise might suffer. These products do not replace standard NPK fertilisers but rather supplement the nutrition program by ensuring that the plant can make the most of nutrients and overcome growth hurdles. They are akin to vitamins and probiotics for your olive trees - not absolutely required, but when used properly, they often lead to healthier, more productive plants.
Product Sizes & Usage Note: Most AgroBest biostimulants are available in various sizes to suit different scales of operation - from 1-5 L bottles for small groves up to 200 L drums for large farms. They are generally applied at low concentrations (e.g. a few litres per hectare as a foliar spray). It’s important to follow recommended timing - many biostimulants show best results when applied at specific growth stages (like root flush, pre-flowering, or stress events).
In Australian agriculture, understanding the hidden nutrients in your soil and plants can make the difference between an average harvest and a thriving one. Leaf and soil analysis give farmers, agronomists, olive growers, and even hobby gardeners a scientific window into their crops’ health. By regularly testing both the soil and the leaves (foliage) of your olive trees or other plants, you gain precise data to fine-tune fertiliser use, correct deficiencies, and boost overall productivity. The result is healthier olive groves, higher yields of quality fruit, and more sustainable soil management - an investment that pays off in both the short and long term through improved crop performance and soil health.
In Summary, AgroBest’s range of products on The Olive Centre spans everything from core fertilisers to innovative biostimulants, all geared toward improving plant nutrition and resilience. By grouping products into foliar feeds, soil conditioners, protection aids, adjuvants, and biostimulants, we see that each category addresses different aspects of olive grove management:
Sources: The information in this article is from The Olive Centre’s product listings and knowledge base, including technical descriptions of AgroBest products and their recommended uses. Each product mentioned is available through The Olive Centre; for detailed application rates and guidelines, please refer to the specific product pages and labels. By reviewing these resources and field experiences, we’ve provided an integrated overview to help you make informed decisions about which AgroBest products can best address the needs of your olive grove.
Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni), commonly known as Q-fly, is Australia’s most economically significant horticultural pest. Its widespread impact on the stone fruit, citrus, and vegetable industries is well documented. However, its interactions with olives are less widely understood and often underestimated.
For olive growers, Q-fly occupies a grey zone i.e. it is not a primary pest, yet it can cause issues in olives. Under the right conditions, it can shift from a background risk to a notable issue affecting both production and fruit quality. This article explores the current scientific understanding of Q-fly in olive systems and outlines practical implications for commercial growers.
Q-fly is a native Australian species with an exceptionally broad host range, attacking more than 200 fruit and vegetable species. Its success stems from high adaptability and it thrives across varied climatic zones, readily shifts between host crops, and persists in mixed agricultural and peri-urban environments.
Female flies lay eggs directly into fruit, where larvae feed on the pulp. This internal feeding leads to fruit breakdown, premature drop, and entry points for secondary fungal pathogens. Population build-up is strongly driven by temperature, humidity, and host availability, with rapid increases occurring during warm, wet conditions.
Olives (Olea europaea) are generally considered a minor or occasional host for Queensland fruit fly. However, this label can be misleading.
Australian research and field observations show that:
Q-fly females can and do oviposit in olive fruit.
Larval development can occur when conditions are favourable.
Damage tends to be sporadic but can become locally significant.
Importantly, olives often serve as a late-season host. When preferred summer fruits are no longer available, olive groves can help sustain fruit fly populations into autumn, integrating them into the wider ecological landscape supporting Q-fly.
For most olive growers, Q-fly is not a constant threat, but risk escalates under certain conditions:
Olives frequently remain on trees after stone fruit and other summer crops have finished. Residual fly populations may then target olives as an alternative host.
Seasons with above-average rainfall and humidity can trigger significant Q-fly surges, increasing attacks on less-preferred hosts like olives.
Larger-fruited table olive varieties tend to be more susceptible than smaller oil cultivars, likely due to greater suitability for oviposition.
Groves located near stone fruit orchards, citrus blocks, or unmanaged backyard hosts face substantially higher pressure. Because Q-fly is highly mobile, isolated on-farm management has limited impact.
Direct yield losses from Q-fly in olives are usually modest. The more serious consequences relate to fruit quality.
Egg-laying punctures (“stings”) and larval feeding cause premature softening, fruit drop, and internal breakdown.
Q-fly entry wounds create ideal infection sites for fungal pathogens such as anthracnose. This can accelerate fruit decay, increase rot incidence, and compromise outcomes during oil extraction.
Infested fruit can elevate free fatty acids (FFA), introduce oxidative defects, and shorten shelf life. Even low levels of damaged fruit can affect overall oil quality in premium production systems.
Q-fly is opportunistic, management in olives should be integrated, cost-effective, and scaled to actual risk.
Monitoring
Start with reliable monitoring using:
Sanitation remains one of the most effective tools:
Protein bait sprays targeting female flies are a proven option, especially in higher-risk areas. Their efficacy increases markedly when applied as part of coordinated area-wide programs rather than isolated efforts.
Area-Wide Approaches
Research demonstrates that Q-fly is best managed regionally through:
Olive growers benefit significantly from participating in these broader initiatives.
Climate variability is likely to reshape Q-fly dynamics. Warmer temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns may extend the fly’s active season, improve overwintering survival, and increase pressure in regions previously considered lower risk. Combined with expanding horticultural plantings that provide continuous host availability, Q-fly is expected to remain a persistent secondary consideration for the Australian olive industry.
Queensland fruit fly is not the primary pest challenge for olive growers, but it is a highly adaptable opportunist within the same production environment. In most seasons, it remains in the background; in challenging seasons, it can contribute to quality downgrades, disease pressure, and market complications.
The recommended approach is not alarm, but informed awareness: monitor early, manage regionally, and recognise that olive groves form part of the broader fruit fly ecosystem rather than existing outside it.
