ICL Growing Solutions Greece's Clockwork for Kiwi Crop project: one full season in commercial orchards in Kavala, Greece. It tests whether well-timed ICL nutrition technologies and a connected value chain can lower costs and raise fruit value.
A project by ICL Growing Solutions Greece, in partnership with
Clockwork for Kiwi Crop extends ICL's global Clockwork programme to kiwifruit in Greece. Advanced nutrition technologies, precise timing in the field and scientific monitoring work like the gears of a clock. They connect grower, distributor, scientists and a premium global market around one goal.
The aim is to show in real commercial conditions that applying ICL's leading technologies at the right moment (CRF, Metabolite and PeKacid) pays off on three fronts.
One basal application of controlled-release fertilizer replaces repeated nitrogen splits. The grower uses fewer inputs and fewer tractor passes, and spends less on labour.
The protocol aims for better dry matter and Brix, firmer flesh and longer cold-storage life without quality loss. Calcium reaching the fruit is the key factor.
Fewer passes through the orchard and nutrients released only when the plant can use them. The result is minimal nitrate leaching and a lower carbon and nitrogen footprint.
Controlled release, not slow release. The plant gets what it needs, when it needs it.
Each product enters at the growth stage where it does the most work, from dormancy to ripening.
A single basal application. The coated granules release nitrogen according to soil temperature and moisture only, so the plant gets a smooth, steady supply with no sudden growth spikes. Polysulphate is a 100% natural mineral mined by ICL more than 1,200 m below the North Sea. It adds potassium, magnesium, sulphur and calcium with slow release, is almost chloride-free and is approved for organic farming.
Activates the kiwi's root system early and makes nutrients more available in the soil. Uptake stays high even under environmental or soil stress, including summer heat.
Fully water-soluble, acidifying fertigation. It corrects the pH around the roots so that trace elements stay available in alkaline soils. It also supplies high phosphorus at fruit set, working alongside the bumblebee pollination.
Calcium is an "early-window" nutrient in kiwifruit, because transport into the fruit largely closes after the first weeks. Supplying it at this point strengthens cell walls for firmness and storage life.
Potassium is applied at the critical ripening stage for maximum sugar (Brix) accumulation and the best final quality.
Soil sensors showed water stalling in the top 15–20 cm. After H2Flo, it reached 40 cm, wet the ridge evenly and then drained naturally, so the trees received the water they were given.
Clockwork brings together leading partners at each critical link, from the orchard to the premium shelf.
Designs the nutrition protocol and brings the technologies: CRF, PeKacid, Metabolite and Polysulphate.
One of the most modern model kiwi orchards in Chrysoupoli, Kavala. All data comes from real, demanding commercial conditions.
The global reference for yellow JinTao and green Boerica kiwifruit. Jingold is the end customer the project aims to convince on dry matter, firmness and storage life.
Brings precision agriculture to the field: multispectral drone mapping, GPS-referenced leaf and fruit sampling, and data analysis throughout the season.
Handles distribution and technical support for ICL products, and placed bumblebee hives in the orchard. Good pollination maximises seeds per fruit, which drives final size.
Qlab runs the leaf and fruit nutrient analysis. Tropos Branding (Branding Office) leads strategy and coordination and turned the season into a live story.
The ICL orchards were compared in real time with neighbouring control orchards that followed the grower's usual fertilization programme.
Agromaster CRF basal application. The gears start turning.
Bumblebee hives placed, first drone flights and first leaf sampling.
Calcium window, leaf diagnostics and NovAcid fertigation.
Fruit at 95% of size. Final leaf and fruit sampling.
Fruit picked, weighed, graded and assessed for quality.
Full analysis of the ICL strategy against grower practice.
Harvest is complete. The fruit is being graded and analysed, and all of the season's drone, leaf and fruit data is being cross-checked. The final comparison between the ICL strategy and the grower's practice will be published here.
Sugar accumulation at harvest
Uptake from leaf to fruit
Post-harvest shelf life
Applications and labour saved
Episodes are in Greek. Turn on YouTube captions and auto-translate for English.
1:09:53
The people behind the project look back at the full season. Spyros Paleochorinos (ICL), Athanasios Pisalidis (Jingold), Sakis Siomos (Agromatrix) and Michalis Bellos (Tropos Branding) join moderator Christos D. Katsanos.
Want to know how the ICL nutrition protocol can work for your kiwi crop, or any other specialty crop? The ICL Growing Solutions Greece team is ready to help.