For Quality, Shelf Life and Health.
Firmer fruit
Increased flower and fruit setting
Extended post-harvest shelf life
Reduced physiological disorders
Reduced susceptibility to disease
Improved growth during heat and cold stress
Highly Efficient Calcium Absorption
Albina is a pioneering new product that can reduce physiological disorders, improve flower set, fruit holding, and improves firmness and shelf life of fruit and vegetable crops. Albina uses LoCal technology to help plants absorb calcium, a nutrient that can improve quality but is poorly absorbed by plants.
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Most growers know that calcium is important for fruit and vegetable crops, as it can improve cell wall strength, which has a positive effect on shelf life, firmness and ability to withstand diseases and physiological disorders. However when you look at the scientific evidence it becomes clear that the calcium applied to fruit and vegetable crops does not always end up where it is needed. Calcium is poorly absorbed by flowers and fruit therefore a lot of the calcium farmers apply to their crops is wasted as fruit are not able to absorb it efficiently.
So why is it the case that calcium absorption is so erratic? Calcium absorption is strongly linked to the transport of auxin, a plant hormone. Auxin must be present in cells for calcium to be able to move into them.
As fruit and vegetables grow and mature their auxin levels and ability to absorb calcium decreases and when crops are sprayed with foliar calcium, the leaves and very young fruit will absorb it, but maturing fruits will not.
Usually it is exactly the fruit that can’t absorb the calcium that farmers are targeting, in order to improve firmness and post harvest shelf life and prevent disorders. This is why results from conventional calcium fertilisers are so erratic, sometimes the fruit can’t absorb calcium into fruit and the input is wasted.
Albina contains Levity’s pioneering LoCal technology, to stimulate calcium absorption into parts of crops where conventional products cannot.
It can help farmers get firmness, fruit set and shelf-life to higher standards using very low inputs. It can also reduce physiological disorders on a wide range of crops.
Physiological disorders like bitter pit (apples), cracking (cherry), tip burn (lettuce and cabbage), blossom end rot (tomato, watermelon and pepper), black heart (celery), end spot (avocado), soft nose (mango) and cork spot (pear) are closely related to local calcium deficiency. Often when calcium related disorders occur on crops the plants as a whole are not deficient in calcium. Indeed even the fruit is only deficient in small areas. It therefore makes sense to understand why only small parts of the plant have a problem, and treat the problem not just the symptom. Albina corrects the local calcium deficiency that leads to these important physiological problems, by allowing proper transport of calcium into the problem areas. This means farmers can use low rates and get great results.
Albina is a very effective product for ensuring good setting of flowers, and good retention of fruit. Levity research shows that treating crops during flowering and stress conditions improves the number and size of fruits harvested.
Calcium is important in maintaining strong cell walls, and in cell to cell adhesion both critical factors in promoting plant health. Plants with good calcium status are less likely to become infected with diseases, and Albina has been demonstrated to help reduce disease susceptibility on a wide range of crops.
Albina can be used to help maintain normal growth rates during periods of high temperature growing conditions.
Pre-harvest applications of Albina are an effective way of extending post harvest shelf life, and firmness in fruit and vegetable crops. Mature fruit are naturally less able to absorb calcium, but Albina is easily absorbed allowing good performance close to harvest.
The Effects of Calcium on Bitter Pit in Apples
The effects of Calcium on Cavity Spot in Carrots
The effects of Calcium on Blossom End Rot
The Effects of Leaf Flush on Citrus Fruit Quality
At levity, we know that science makes the difference. Our team of scientist’s regularly upload insights explaining the science behind our products, and why it works so well.
Getting Pecan growth right means balancing the needs of the crop for Nitrogen to increase yield, with the propensity of the crop to too easily go vegetative. This is the reason for problems with...
Whilst bitter pit is linked with localised low levels of calcium it is characterised as a physiological disorder, and not a calcium deficiency. There is a reason for this distinction and it should...
Although the link between Cavity Spot infection and low calcium levels in carrots is well established, farmers often get little benefit from application of calcium fertilisers. In this article I...
To get the best return growing processing tomato homogeneity is king. The crop needs to be maintained to give even size and growth. Here in the first of two articles we discuss the roles of nitrogen...
Citrus trees are a crop that put out multiple flushes of leaf growth during the season. Leaf flush creates large spikes in phyto-hormone levels in the tree and this can impact on yield and quality....
At levity, our science is proven, published and peer reviewed in the academic and scienctific community. Read our academic papers related to Albina here.
Albina, powered by LoCal technology allows parts of plants naturally less able to absorb calcium (fruits and flowers) to absorb it easily, allowing small doses to give large benefits.
In this study on tomato UK (2017), Albina applications significantly improves yield by increasing both the number of fruits, and the size of fruit. Levity’s research shows improved fruit number and size in a wide range of crops including cucurbits, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes and peppers.
More independent research done at Holden Research, California (2016) and Universidad Agraria la Molina, Peru (2012) investigated Albinas effect on strawberry yield. The field trials showed that Albina increased fruit numbers per plant and mean fruit weight.
This UK (2022) trial looked at the effect of Albina on root weight in carrot. For the Polydor carrot trial, the Albina treatment resulted a 32% increased weight of the roots, meaning a higher yeild for the grower.
This UK (2022) trial looked at the effect of Albina on potato yield. This Manhattan trial significantly increased weight of tubers (56% increase), number of tubers (24% increase) and tuber size distribution (increases in 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90+ mm size classes). This shows that the treated sample had a significantly increased yield due to more tubers that were bigger being produced with fewer tubers being in the lower size classes.
Most fruit and vegetable crops have physiological disorders associated with poor Ca absorption. Lettuce (Tip burn), cherries (cracking), tomato (blossom end rot) are all examples of crops where Albina is more effective at lower rates.
Bitter Pit is a physiological disorder of apples, closely linked with calcium deficiency. Bitter pit occurs when calcium is low in fruit, even when the rest of the plant has adequate calcium. Applying extra calcium does not always correct the problem, as the fruit are poor at absorbing it.
In this study at Warsaw Agricultural University, just 3 x 1.5L/Ha of Albina completley corrected bitter pit. Whereas 9 x 5L/Ha of conventional calcium fertiliser did not do the job. This is because Albina is able to be easily absobed by the apple and conventional Ca is not.
Experiments carried out by the Ctifl and Vegenov research centres in France (2013) looking at alternatives to fungicides in reducing disease in fruit and vegetable crops.
Albina significantly reduced disease compared to control plants on Lettuce, melon and chrysanthemum (P<0.05). Demonstrating that use of Albina reduces the need for fungicide applications.
An independent trial in the UK (2016) looked at the effect of Levity’s LoCal technology (used in Albina) on post harvest firmness of strawberry, in comparrison to conventional calcium fertiliser. Firmness was tested both 9 Days after treatment and 16 days after treatment.
This trial in the UK (2022) looked at the effect of Albina on root firmness in carrot when compared with a industry standard fertiliser.
For the Nairobi carrot trial, the Albina treatment resulted in significantly (p<0.05) firmer roots (7% increase) which would suggest that the roots would have a longer storage life and remain fresh longer when with consumers.
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Crop |
Application |
Amount |
Frequency |
Impact |
Soft Fruit |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 1-2 weeks throughout flowering | Improve shelf life and reduce physiological disorders |
Lettuce & Leafy Salad Crops |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 14 days from 3 leaf stage | Reduce tip burn and improve shelf life |
Tomato, Pepper, |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 2 weeks throughout flowering | Relieve stress |
Fruit Trees, Vines & Hops |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | At flowering and then 2 further applications (7-14 day intervals) | Reduce physiological disorders |
Broccoli & Cauliflower |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 2 weeks from formation of head until harvest | Reduce bruising |
Celery |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | At 3 leaf stage the every 14-20 days | Prevent black heart |
Cabbages & Brussels Sprouts |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every2-3 weeks after bud formation | Reduce internal browning and yellowing |
Dragon Fruit |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 3 weeks throughout season | Improved fruit retention and health |
Bannana |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | Every 3-4 weeks throughout season | Increased fruit number and improved disease resistance |
Citrus |
Foliar apply | 1L Per Ha | After flowering then again after 14 days | Improved fruit retention |
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