Email : mac-hort-serv@bigpond.com Mobile 0438 861198
I became aware of Geo Leak Solutions RC3 during 2020 when a report of success on control of pasture dieback was published by Qld Country Life. Having had approximately three years exposure to the problem of pasture dieback through another product. Not unlike the report on RC3, some success in managing PDB had been recorded. Contact was subsequently established with Bob Alder, principal of Geo Leak Solutions.
Having come to understand the potential to use RC3 for alternative purposes and to improve macadamia production in particular, field trials were undertaken on two commercial macadamia farms in SE Qld. In both cases, the trials produced encouraging results. The interest was to determine if RC3 could improve nut set and the volume of nuts carried through to maturity. Visual assessment in both cases appears to confirm positive results, sufficient for those growers to commit to a program for the 2021 crop. This will consist of three applications from flowering to oil accumulation (August to December).
Apart from macadamias, small scale trials on lychee, mangoes, carambola (5 corner fruit) and papaya, show positive signs of improved tree health and resistance to disease. On mangoes, the onset of anthracnose on fruit has been observed to be halted after RC3 was applied. The area of affected fruit on the tree was restricted to that before treatment. Balance of the crop went on to maturity without disease infection.
Similarly, papaya which have traditionally been affected with black spot immediately after fruit set are 99% clear of the problem at this time. This is worthy of further work, given that no fruit has gone on to harvest previously. A 12/13 yr. lychee which has never produced a crop, set and held a good quality crop for 2020 after RC3 application at flowering. We note also a carambola tree 12/13 years, which had dramatically declined in health, appears to have recovered significantly and is setting flowers for a 2021 crop. It has been determined to remove the tree but that appears not to be necessary.
Geo Leak Solutions’ RC3 appears to have real potential to assist horticulture in particular. Further use in the field will confirm this.
Commercial macadamias as mentioned
Carambola tree
Lychee tree and fruit
