A NEW £3m liquid storage factory with the facility to store up to 30,000tonnes has been built in Dundee and is scheduled to become operational in the coming week.

Omex, one of the UK's leading manufacturers of liquid fertilisers aims to supply bespoke nitrogen-based mixtures to specialist fruit, vegetable and arable growers in Scotland.

In previous years, the company's base at North Shields on Tyneside supplied farmers in Scotland and the Borders, but the new factory at Dundee allows raw materials to be shipped into a deep water site, processed accordingly and distributed throughout Scotland.

This family owned business which was established in the UK in 1976, aims to provide farmers with total crop nutrition through a range of unique suspension fertilisers and foliar health promoters – often marketed through Frontier and Agri – tailor made to suit the needs of individual fields and crops.

With demand for liquid nitrogen fertiliser soaring in the UK, the company is looking to increase sales from its Nitroflo liquid nitrogen range, which have been shown to significantly increase yields and improve efficiency in all agricultural settings. Specially formulated to offer some of the most concentrated liquid nitrogen nutrition available, Nitroflo liquid has been shown to provide up to 20% more accurate application compared to solid alternatives, with increased tramline widths up to 36m.

Increased accuracy also means reduced leaching and waste, and liquid fertiliser can be applied even in bad weather, and often when the weather is unsuitable for spreading granular fertilisers.

A one-man operation means reduced labour requirement too, with no heavy bags. An optional tank storage scheme also leads to better logistics and space management

For specialist soft fruit growers, Richard Cameron highlighted the benefits of zinc and copper, which combined with sulphur produce a 'double wow effect'.

"We have been working for alternatives to phosphites for a number of years now and we now have a product which complements the fungicidal and bacterial activity of agrochemicals and one which enables the plants' natural resources to fight pests and diseases," he said.

"Zynergy, which is a unique complex of copper and zinc, is not completely curative but it is an effective foliar fertiliser which can be used as integrated pest management for the control of a number of diseases to include Botrytis, Downy Mildew and late blight."

Zinc, he said is involved in the formulation and activation of hormones that regulate root development, water uptake, flowering and fruit set. The mineral also plays a major role in would healing and disease suppression.

Copper is involved in photosynthesis and the binding of cells that support plant structure and development of new shoot and root tissue. It is also helps suppress infection.

Mr Cameron also pointed out the new wetting agent, Kobra, to improve foliar uptake of acaricides, fungicides, insecticides and foliar nutrients through better distribution and fast drying drying.

The agent, he said also reduces visible residues prior to harvest, and, applied as a growing media, gives even penetration throughout the growing media and soil.