HULST RESEARCH FARM SERVICES, INC.

TITLE:
Tomatoes

Evaluation of ATOMIC GROW in Mature Fall Harvest

PROJECT NUMBER:
PRINCIPALS:

07124

Hulst Research Farm Services, Inc. High Yield Supplies Inc.

12/05/07
Danny R. Hicks
Field Investigator
Hulst Research Farm Services, Inc.

Date

12/05/07
Daniel L. Galt
Director of Research
Hulst Research Farm Services, Inc.
TITLE:
Tomatoes
PROJECT NUMBER:

Date

Evaluation of ATOMIC GROW in Mature Fall Harvest

07124

PRINCIPALS: Hulst Research Farm Services, Inc. and High Yield Supplies Inc.
COOPERATOR:

HRFS-W, annual cropping area

PURPOSE:
To verify brix increase and a lack of phytotoxicity in mature fresh market
tomatoes following broadcast applications of Nano Emulsion products ATOMIC
GROW.
METHODS:
This trial was established on the untreated control (UTC) plots of Shady Lady variety mature
(green mature fruit) fresh market tomatoes grown in Block 11 of the HRFS-W site near
Hughson, CA. The remaining plots in this block had previously received phosphate fertilizer
in another trial through drip tape injections. Each 30-foot UTC plot was divided in thirds and

each resulting 10-foot plot flagged out. Plot size was 10 linear feet by five feet wide. The
trial consisted of a randomized complete block design of four replicated treatments each.
Three applications were made on a seven-day interval beginning on 11/08/07 and continuing
on 11/15/07 and 11/21/07 (6-DAA-2) according to the following application table.

No.

Treatment

Rate

Untreated Control

---

ATOMIC GROW

500:1 Water:FP

ATOMIC GROW

500:1 Water:FP

Applications were made using a CO2 backpack sprayer using a five foot broadcast boom
employing three TeeJet #8002 flat fan nozzles operating at 30 PSI and delivering 50 GPA.

EVALUATIONS:
Plant vigor, phytotoxicity and brix were evaluated twice, 7-DAA-1 on 11/15/07 and 6DAA-2 on 11/21/07. The first plant vigor rating used a 0-10 scale, where 0 = all dead
plants and 10 = the best possible average plant vigor for the plants. Because a light frost
affected the block the night before the second evaluation event occurred, the second vigor
evaluation recorded the percentage of frosted foliage per plot. Phytotoxicity was measured
on a 0-10 scale, where 0 = a complete lack of necrotic tissue due to application and 10 = all
plant tissue was killed by the application. The brix determination was made by sampling the
four ripest tomatoes from each plot, quartering them, compositing the quarters in a quart
ZipLoc bag, extracting as much liquid as possible by physically mashing the quarters,
trickling the juice onto a Bausch and Lomb Refractometer, and measuring the resulting brix
as an estimate of percent sugar.
The final evaluation of frosted plant foliage occurred 6-DAA-3 following a hard freeze
between Thanksgiving day, 11/22/07, and Sunday, 11/25/07. A 0-100 scale was used, where
0 = no frost damage and 100 = 100% of the plant foliage in the plot killed by frost.
The ANOVA comparisons were used as a statistical test of the raw data using ARM. Means
which have the same letter are not significantly different at the {p=(0.05)} level using the
Least Significant Difference (LSD).

RESULTS:
All data are summarized in TABLE 1.

At 7-DAA-1 on 11/15/07, no treatment resulted in any statistically significant difference with

regard to either plant vigor or phytotoxicity, with neither product causing any phytotoxicity
(columns 1 and 3). With respect to percent sugar, treatment 2, ATOMIC GROW, resulted
in significantly higher brix when compared to the levels in both the untreated control (UTC)
plots and those treated with NC-234536 (column 2). The increase in ATOMIC GROW
was 50%, compared to the UTC, or 10%.
By 6-DAA-2 on 11/21/07, no treatment differences were observed with regard to percent
plant foliage frosted or phytotoxicity (columns 4 and 6). However, at this time, treatment 3,
ATOMIC GROW , resulted in significantly higher percent sugar than were found in
treatment 2, while the UTC plots were intermediate in brix level (column 5). This time, the
increase in ATOMIC GROW was 0.45, or 8.8%.
Following the killing frost, 6-DAA-3 on 11/27/07, no treatments resulted in any surviving
green plant tissue (column 7).

DISCUSSION:
These applications were made to green mature tomatoes in the late fall. This resulted in a
trial which was done under the most adverse conditions possible. Even so, at one or the
other of the two pre-freeze evaluations, but not at both, the two formulations did result in a
significant increase of percent sugar as measured by the brix readings. However, the
increase in sugar at the second evaluation was at the expense of the other formulation and
was not significantly greater than that found in the untreated control. The high variability of
treatment results in this trial is due to a combination of adverse season-end circumstances and to
the fact that few tomatoes were advancing from the green stage to the ripe stage during this
period of cool days and cold weather.
TABLE

Hulst Research Farm Services

Trial ID:
07124
Location:
Crop Code
BBCH Scale
Crop Name
Description
Part Rated
Rating Date
Rating Data
Type
Rating Unit

Protocol ID: 07124

Study Director: Danny R.
Hicks Investigator: David
Hulst
LYPES LYPES
LYPES
BVSO
BVSO
BVSO
Tomato Tomato
Tomato
Plan
BrixPhytotoxicity
t
VigoC FRUIT
PLANT
C
C
15/Nov/ 15/Nov/
15/Nov/
2007
2007
2007
VIGOR SUGCO PHYGEN
N
0-10
%

Footnote Number
Trt-Eval Interval
7-DAA-1 7-DAA-1
Number of Decimals
2
2
Trt Treatment
RateAppl
No.Name RateUnitDescription
1
2
7.63a 5.05b
1Untreated
Control

2ATOMIC GROW
3ATOMIC GROW
LSD (P=.05)
Standard Deviation
CV
Grand Mean
Bartlett's X2
P(Bartlett's X2)
Friedman's X2
P(Friedman's X2)

8.00a
8.13a
1.435
0.829
10.47
7.92
5.479
0.065
0.875
0.646

5.55a
5.10b
0.387
0.224
4.27
5.23
5.125
0.077
4.625
0.099

7-DAA-1
2
3
0.00a
0.00a
0.00a
0.000
0.000
0.0
0.0
0.0
.
0.0
1.00

Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P=.05, LSD)

TABLE 1, cont.

Hulst Research Farm Services

Protocol ID:
07124
Study Director: Danny R. Hicks

Trial ID: 07124

Location:

Investigator: David Hulst

Crop Code
BBCH Scale
Crop Name
Description

LYPES
BVSO

LYPES
BVSO

LYPES
BVSO

LYPES
BVSO

Tomato
Frost

Tomato

Tomato

Tomato
% Plant

Part Rated

Damage
PLANT C

Rating Date

21/Nov/2007

Rating Data Type

Rating Unit
Footnote Number
Trt-Eval Interval
Number of Decimals
Trt Treatment
No. Name
1Untreated
Control
2ATOMIC GROW

BrixPhytotoxicity
FRUIT C
21/Nov/

2007
VIGOR SUGCON
0-10
%
1
6-DAA-2 6-DAA-2
2
2

Frosted
C
PLANT C
21/Nov/
27/Nov/2007
2007
PHYGEN
PERCENT
%
6-DAA-2
2

6-DAA-3
2

RateAppl

RateUnit Description

4
4.38a

5
5.30ab

6
0.00a

7
100.00a

1.25a

5.10b

0.00a

100.00a

3ATOMIC
GROW
LSD (P=.05)
Standard Deviation
CV
Grand Mean
Bartlett's X2
P(Bartlett's X2)
Friedman's X2
P(Friedman's X2)

2.25a

5.55a

0.00a

100.00a

4.657
2.691
102.53
2.63
1.558
0.459
2.625

0.378
0.219
4.11
5.32
1.981
0.371
3.125

0.000
0.000
0.0
0.0
0.0
.
0.0

0.000
0.000
0.0
100.0
0.0
.
0.0

0.269

0.21

1.00

1.00

Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P=.05, LSD)

Column 1 Footnote: Plant reaction to first non-lethal frost as percent foliage per plot
blackened or killed by frost.

Trial No. 07124

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