A Strong Nutritional Base for 200+ Ornamental Crops

At a glance

Challenge
Maintain consistent plant quality across more than 200 species while responding to changing customer needs and reducing the use of natural resources.

Approach
Build nutrition around a reliable controlled-release base, then adjust for specific crop needs with supplementary feeding, efficient water management and precise monitoring.

Impact
Plants leave the nursery with the color, vigor and nutrient reserves needed to perform through transport, transplanting and establishment at their final destination.

Plant nutrition
Osmocote provides the base nutrition, while Universol is used where crops need additional nutrition. H2Gro supports more efficient water use.

Perspective
Pablo Bordón Pérez, Technical Forestry Engineer and Production Technician at Mas de Valero, Valencia, Spain.

Build a strong nutritional base, then adjust where needed

Mas de Valero produces more than 200 plant species across more than 200 hectares. With such a diverse assortment, nutritional requirements can vary considerably between crops and production stages. For Pablo, a reliable nutritional base is therefore essential. “For us, fertilization with Osmocote or the Universol range is fundamental and very necessary.”

Osmocote provides the controlled-release base nutrition. Universol gives the nursery additional flexibility when a crop needs extra nutrition. “With Osmocote, we know we have a base fertilization. With the Universol range, we know we can provide that extra capacity or meet that extra need.” For growers managing a broad assortment, the principle is practical: create a reliable nutritional foundation, but keep enough flexibility to respond to specific crop requirements.

Use water and fertilizer where the crop needs them

Customer expectations are changing, and climate change is increasing pressure to use natural resources more efficiently. Pablo identifies water and fertilizers as two particularly important resources for Mas de Valero. The nursery therefore combines its nutrition strategy with technologies that help improve water management. H2Gro is one example. “We can also rely on products such as H2Gro, which allows us to use less water.”

Mas de Valero is also a pioneer in growing in coconut fiber and increasingly uses irrigation sensors to support more precise water management. The objective is not simply to reduce inputs. It is to use them efficiently while still delivering the plant quality customers expect. For Pablo, that quality has a very practical definition: the plant needs to arrive with good color, vigor and sufficient reserves to cope with transplanting and establishment.

Drone-use at Mas de Valero Nursery in Spain.

Combine products with direct technical support

Mas de Valero’s relationship with ICL has developed over more than 15 years. Pablo describes the relationship as straightforward: “We have a direct relationship, advice and constant support.”

That continuity matters when production requirements are changing. Product choice is one part of the strategy, but growers also need to keep adapting how those products are used as crops, substrates, climate conditions and customer expectations evolve. Mas de Valero continues to explore new technologies, including irrigation sensors and drones for crop-protection applications. “We are always attentive to any innovation we can adopt to meet the challenges we face today.”

For growers, three practical principles stand out:

• Start with a reliable nutritional base, then adjust nutrition to specific crop needs.
• Treat water, substrate and fertilization as one growing system, especially when working with alternative substrates such as coconut fiber.
• Combine products with monitoring and technical support so the strategy can evolve when growing conditions change.

For Mas de Valero, the final measure is the plant that reaches the customer: healthy, vigorous and ready to perform in its next growing environment.

About Mas de Valero

Mas de Valero is one of Spain’s largest ornamental nurseries, with more than 200 hectares of production and around 250 employees. The nursery produces more than 200 plant species in a wide range of formats and has been a pioneer in growing ornamental plants in coconut fiber.

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