In order to determine the final quality of the citrus harvest, optimal management in the last stages of the crop cycle, starting with the colour change, is essential. Therefore, a strategy focused on improving the preservation and protection of the peel can have a direct effect on the final value and profitability of the crop for the farmer.
However, the ideal scenario includes not only the interests of the farmer, but also those of the marketing companies. These aim to provide supermarket chains with products that meet consumer expectations and needs based on consumer trends. And it is precisely these trends that are a fundamental aspect influencing the entire supply chain, as they push all actors to continuously adapt. Innova Market Insights, in its presentation of the main trends in the food industry for the year 2022, states: “personal health and sustainability have proven to be strong drivers of consumer choice”; “personal and societal values are increasingly important as they become intertwined with purchasing decisions”.
Returning to citriculture, there is a clear need to be able to produce fruit on the basis of sustainable and healthy standards that also have an adequate shelf life to guarantee their commercialisation in the different markets of interest. The challenge is to do this on the basis of agronomic practices that result in zero-waste harvests and that influence the many aspects surrounding cultivation (pre-harvest), subsequent processing and conservation (post-harvest). And all of this is compounded by the restriction and/or prohibition of the use of some tools such as phytosanitary products which, until recently, allowed this task to be completed successfully.
In order to meet this challenge, Servalesa proposes to introduce the use of biostimulants as TEMPLARIO® PLUS and SERGOMIL® L60 complements to conventional tools in zero-waste management strategies, thus enhancing the stimulation-protection binomial. The concept of the aforementioned plant protection products revolves around plant health. Biostimulants are based on the improvement and regulation of physiological and biological processes of crops and biochemistry to optimise and improve crop yield and quality.
In the specific case of citriculture, and thanks to the study carried out by Servalesa, there is evidence that the combined use of the biostimulants TEMPLARIO® PLUS and SERGOMIL® L60 improves the quality of the peel of the fruit, reinforcing its firmness, preventing its weakening and mitigating senescence. In this way, the fruits are prepared for post-harvest life.
TEMPLARIO® PLUS
TEMPLARIO® PLUS is a product with a unique formulation developed by Servalesa®. It is composed of a concentrated solution of potassium in the form of inorganic salt, therefore, the absorption of which is immediate.
TEMPLARIO® PLUS exerts a structural and cell wall reinforcement function derived from the accumulation of growth factors in the epidermis of leaves, stems and fruits, improving skin quality.
Its application aids vigorous vegetative growth and development, resulting in more robust, harder and more elastic plants. In addition, growth factors are included in the formulation, which stimulate the plant’s metabolic processes and enhance the biosynthesis of sugars and pigments.
TEMPLARIO® PLUS reduces the excessive accumulation of moisture deposited on the leaf surface, helping to overcome critical moments for the crop throughout the whole cycle.
SERGOMIL® L60
SERGOMIL® L60 is a biostimulant product formulated with saccharide derivatives as acid monomers and with copper as a trace element, which play a role in inducing plant vigour, growth and development. SERGOMIL® L60 is based on a unique formulation, developed by Servalesa, which combines two main components: saccharide derivatives (of plant origin, obtained by biological fermentation and containing bioactive molecules) and systemic ionic copper, with the ability to penetrate inside the crops with a diverse mode of action.
On the one hand, SERGOMIL® L60 is capable of supplying and increasing copper systemically in crops. The benefits of increasing copper levels in the plant are numerous because this element is part of several enzyme complexes linked to photosynthesis and respiration. On the other hand, the increase of copper in crops mitigates various physiopathies associated with copper deficiency.
SERGOMIL® L60 stimulates the biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin in the cell walls of the plant, thus strengthening plant tissues and improving fruit firmness, optimising the quality of the harvest.
SERGOMIL® L60 activates key metabolic processes and pathways for the biosynthesis of proteins and specific secondary metabolites associated with critical phases of the crop cycle, helping to improve the plant development of the crop.
