How to achieve constant quality in horticulture

Transplant stress, poor rooting and sub-optimal nutritional absorption are some of the main factors that jeopardize good horticultural production. To ensure abundant and quality harvests it is essential to adequately support the plants, promoting the right balance between vegetation and production. Innovative nutrition avoids unnecessary waste.

WHAT TO AIM FOR AND WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

In horticulture, only those who are able to best intercept the market demand can be successful. To "be present" when prices are rewarding, plants must be balanced, harvests regular and organoleptic characteristics always at the top. In the cultivation cycles of tomato, courgette and any other vegetable, many events that can undermine the growth balance. Planting is a first stress, to which the inefficiency of the root system can be added, as well as the inadequate availability of nutrients, the unfavourable environmental conditions. All or some of these negative factors can significantly reduce yields and quality.

TRANSPLANT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Planting in a new environment represents a strong stress for seedlings. In the first days following the transplant, the crop inevitably undergoes a growth arrest, which in some cases can affect engraftment or adversely affect the entire crop cycle. The stressful conditions to which plantlets are subjected, leads them to slow down their radical development and its capillarization, losing part of the ability to absorb water and nutrients. The effect on the aerial development of the plant is immediate: the seedlings tend to spin and the fruit setting of the first flowers (which are often those of greater value) is compromised.

GROWTH IMBALANCE: WHAT DOES IT IMPLY

When the crop goes into production, it is essential that development is balanced. The root must be efficient, the leaf surface well expanded and the plant metabolism must work perfectly. In conditions of nutritional imbalance (e.g. excess of vigour) or of stress (thermal, water, salt), the formation and growth of the floral stage cannot take place in an optimal way: this entails flower abortions and fruit uneven development, with important losses on revenues. In fact, in fresh tomato, the lack of uniformity of size and colouring of the fruits of the same stage leads to the need to sell the product "not in bunches", at a lower price.

FORTIFY, REGULATE, PROMOTE 

Today there are new ways to ensure a constant harvest that stands out on the market for its high organoleptic characteristics. In the world of nutrition, the highest innovation is NOV@^® It is a biostimulant of plant growth and fruit enlargement, which exploits the synergistic properties of the plant extracts that formulate it to promote the development and efficiency of the root system and improve the structure of the soil. But that's not all: the coordinated supply of polysaccharides, vitamins and micronutrients stimulates the primary metabolism and promotes the correct hormonal balance in the tissues. With the application of NOV@^® in the fertigation of horticultural plants it is possible to promote a more balanced crop development (short internodes, greater leaf surface, thicker tissues) and stimulate the growth of the fruits, which thus reach larger and more uniform sizes. With NOV@^® farmers specialized in horticulture today can:

- favour rooting and overcome transplant stress;

- promote radical development and optimize the absorption of nutrients;

- balance the vegetative and productive activity of the plants;

- increase crop size and quality.

HOW TO USE NOV@

NOV@^® is used in fertigation in the post-transplant phase, post-fruit setting 1st bunch and fruit growth stages. Thanks to its properties NOV@^® is ideal for use in combination with the GREEN-GO^® line formulations (NPK + Ca microcrystalline fertigation products with high solubility and purity) and micronutrients. 

Contact the Biolchim technical service to define the most suitable strategy for your plantation. 

This report was originally published in AgroPages' 2020 Biologicals Special. 

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