Can anyone here give advice on mixing KDL to spray on fruit trees? The garden center only had the 0-0-20 in the 2.5 gallon size. Since this is geared to professional farmers I’m not sure how to dilute. Any help is gratefully appreciated!!! We are supposed to get in the mid-20s tomorrow and Wed. night.
most examples of commercial sprays are for 50 gal. tanks on a spray rig applying 25 gallons of water per acre. with the KDL fact sheet saying 2 to 4 quarts per acre that puts the ratio at 4-8 quarts per 50 gallons of water. I don’t use sprays but I would think middle of the road would be your best bet with a ratio of 6 qt per 50 gallons. It also states to use caution when using on plums and peaches because of alkaline staining. Good luck and I hope this helps
The KDL appears to work for our late season temp drops. I have been unsucessful looking for a local store that sells it. Please share your garden center name. Thanks, Bill
I found 0-0-20 at Meherrin Ag in Bowman sc. if you go to the Agro-k website and click “find a dealer” a map pops up with little yellow squares. I clicked on one of those to find nearest dealer. If you are in Alabama it looks like you’ll have to go to Georgia.i had to buy 2.5 gallons at $70 so I hope it helps.
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I feel for you in the South. We got cold, too, but thankfully we are far enough north that nothing has really broken dormancy yet, at least not to any degree where I would be concerned.
Haven’t even noticed bud swell on my peaches, and if there is any, it’s very slight, and at a stage where it would still be OK even if we got into the single digits.
Last year at this time was a different story. Although February this year was a couple degrees warmer than average, we didn’t have a stretch of 70° weather like we did in 2018, so nothing has really popped yet.
My gallon from 2016 has 0-0-24 on it.
I have written down: 3 oz. of KDL and 3 oz. of vinegar per gallon of water. It should be applied 36 hours before freeze event. Application lasts 7-14 in warm weather, and 14-17 in cool weather.
I only used it once, so I don’t really have an opinion yet. My last 2 spring blooms were completely frost-free, which is very unusual.
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You mix it with white wine vinegar in order to regulate the PH of the water. I disagree with your lasting figures. It’s only good for up to 3 days.
KDL saved me last year. I had the biggest harvest on all of my trees
that I’ve ever had. We’re having temps of 26 tonight and 27 tomorrow night. I plan on spraying twice today, once in the morning and again this afternoon. This approach worked last year with back to back freezes. Spray with a fine mist and do not over spray. Just lightly once over. This is strong stuff and it will burn the leaves.
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Thanks
Yikes! The man at the store suggested 8 oz per gallon which I have already sprayed twice. Of course the concentration is less so hopefully I haven’t killed anything yet. Short of growing in a greenhouse I don’t know what to do. We’ve had pre-Easter freezes the last few years (in other words, ever since I started growing these trees). As of today there are baby peaches, apples, plums, figs, nectarines, and pears up there. All of these varieties are rated for this zone. Very frustrating! One question: why the vinegar?
I know it’s too late for this year, but I bought mine directly from
AgriPro 3 years ago for $24.11/ 2.5 gallons. Shipping was $26.69
for a total of $50.80.
It doesn’t go bad. I still have half a jug left.
Wow. Good to know. That’s quite a difference in price. What concentration do you use? How much vinegar? Have you tried on blueberries?
Mix 3 oz of white wine vinegar and 3 oz KDL per gallon
of spray. I don’t grow blues.
Thx!
I’m just passing on what someone else gave me. I don’t even know what was meant by “warm” and “cool.” It seems like there should be a chart to determine the application life based on temperatures.
If I remember correctly, KDL is supposed to help in situations where the plant is blooming while the ground and roots are still too cold to effectively absorb nutrients from the ground. At this stage, the plant is prioritizing its resources for bloom while its ability to replenish its resources is debilitated. Potassium has been linked to cold hardiness in plants, so KDL supplies it directly to the area of concern. It needs to be applied 36 hours in advance because the plant needs time to absorb the potassium and process it for hardening. The time period for post-application effectiveness depends on the plants metabolic level, which is why warmer temps shorten the period of effectiveness.
I’m not a botanist, so I don’t know if this is good science or just a really great sales pitch. 
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The person I spoke to at Agripro, which makes KDL, told
me to be sure to water the trees before applying. If the roots
were too cold to absorb nutrients, this wouldn’t make sense.
Ray, you said you were going to apply twice today. Will you re-apply tomorrow? We are supposed to get to approximately 28 tonight and tomorrow which is similar to your situation. I’ve applied yesterday afternoon and this am at a higher concentration but a lower strength product. Wondering if that is enough. I also really wetted the trees but it was lightly drizzling this am so don’t know how much really sunk in. This is less than 36 hour window suggested by AJ.
I’ve applied yesterday afternoon and this am at a higher concentration but a lower strength product.
I don’t understand what you did. KDL only comes in one strength.
I’m not applying it tomorrow. I’d only have to reapply, if the temps
got above 60 in between freezes.
I guess I got the wrong product. When I called the ag company and asked for kdl I was told they didn’t have the 0-0-24 strength but they did have 0-0-20 which I purchased. It is manufactured by the same company. We shall see…
First, water isn’t the problem, its the minerals. Second, did this person mean to wet the trees or wet the ground? I don’t have any instruction to do this. Of course, I might have ignored it since the ground is always saturated here in winter.
Well since this is essentially a fertilizer it makes sense to have the plant well hydrated before application, correct?