AEA helps produce growers to enhance quality and marketability for the fresh and processing markets.
In vegetable production it is imperative to address the cosmetic issues caused by insects and disease, as well as concerns related to shelf life and overall quality. The reliance on frequent pesticide applications and heavy use of fertilizers has proven to be a less-than-ideal solution. AEA’s management system for vegetable culture includes building inherent plant immunity as a proactive measure to thwart pests and diseases. Maintaining proper nutrient balance fosters healthier plants and reduces the need for pesticides.
Our products and approaches result in improvements for vegetable crop producers across all types and regions. For the home growers and market gardeners, the Vegetable and Fruit Growers’ Guide represents an actionable season-long approach for regenerative production. Our Customer Care team can assist with scaling applications and rates to your production area from 1,000 sq ft.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for larger production operations. Nutrition programs should be fine-tuned based on soil and sap reports, crop consultant recommendations, actual plant performance, and, where appropriate, organic certification requirements. AEA offers customized consulting services through our experienced, regional farm services teams to best maximize performance on your acreage.
We adopt a systematic approach to customize programs for vegetable producers using existing agronomic data and plant sap analysis data.
Focusing our efforts during the Critical Points of Influence (CPIs), we manage macro- and micronutrients to optimize uptake of the key nutrients at each phase of the vegetable crop lifecycle.
This approach to balancing nutrition is stacked atop a foundation of plant health-promoting biological applications for a well-rounded and effective approach to vegetable crop health, tailored to achieve outcomes that support attaining crop quality markers, profitability, and bottom line objectives.
How can AEA’s regenerative approach help vegetable growers meet their goals?
We strive to improve the quality metrics like yield, target size, storability/shipability, firmness, color, and condensed/specified harvest window.
What specific challenges can we help vegetable growers overcome?
Our nutritional recommendations can help to mitigate or solve challenges like insect infestations, malformed fruit, bacterial or fungal pathogens, spot, blight, fusarium, and lengthening harvest window by delaying senescence.
What are among the most important Critical Points of Influence (CPI) for vegetable crops?
The CPIs for vegetable crops vary, with timing specific to whether the crops’ primary purpose is vegetative or reproductive. In the case of the latter, a key CPI is at time of bloom when we can provide nutritional essential support for reproductive function.
Vegetable Success Stories
Dan McClure works alongside AEA to continue his transition from conventional to organic, utilizing our regenerative programs to improve crop performance, build resistance to pests and pathogens and increase water use efficiency.
Dan McClure is the owner of Walla Walla Organics, a 600-acre farm in Touchet, Washington. Dan has been farming in the area since 2006, starting with conventional crops like wheat and alfalfa. When Dan realized he couldn’t meet his goals with conventional crops, he shifted his focus to organic practices. Working with AEA, Dan has seen a dramatic decrease in thrip and pink root pressure in his onions and is seeing less disease pressure on his spinach. He is also seeing an increase in yield and overall crop quality.
All of our crops are irrigated and water penetration is a big deal. Our soils will just tighten up and water just won't go in. After working with AEA and the products that we have been putting down, we’ve found that the soil is starting to open up, water is getting in better and crops are responding nicely.
Related resources
webinar Feb 08, 2019
The Plant Health Pyramid
webinar Apr 25, 2023
