The skin of a cherry is a semipermeable membrane. During ripening, the concentration of soluble solids in the pulp increases rapidly. In contrast, rainwater has a very low concentration of solutes. This difference in concentration between the fruit pulp and the precipitated water creates an osmotic differential. Rainwater can pass through the cuticle and exocarp of the fruit, or the skin, reducing the differential by diluting the sugar concentration inside the cherry.
When rainwater comes into contact with the skin for prolonged periods, such as when it runs off the distal end of the fruit, it creates concentric cracks in the cuticle. Water moves rapidly into these cracks, and when sufficient water has been absorbed, the cracks expand and collapse, resulting in cracking of the distal or lower end of the fruit.
Similarly, when water accumulates at the base of the pedicel, the proximal end of the fruit, concentric cracks form at the shoulder of the fruit, where the cuticle is thinnest.
It is due to the above and to be able to deal with cracking in cherry trees, that Massó Agro makes available to producers StressLess®. An organic biostimulant of plant origin that comes from beet and whose component is Glycine Betaine. This product belongs to a group of molecules called osmoregulators or compatible osmolytes, which provide plants with better resistance to stress phenomena such as lack or excess of water, heat, salinity, low temperatures, etc.
StressLess® It is a natural product, without residues and certified in organic agriculture. The dose is 400 g per hectoliter, 4 kg per hectare, mixed with some penetrant. The time of treatment is when the fruits are at the beginning of the color break (straw color). The persistence of the treatment is about 21 days. It is important to consider that the time of treatment of Stressless® coincides with the application of calcium, so it is highly recommended to add Calibitt® Foliar, high-efficiency calcium, to further reduce the incidence of cracking in fruits. Following these guidelines, in various trials a reduction of between 50 and 60% of cherry cracking has been achieved, without any negative effect having been observed on other aspects of fruit quality, such as firmness, size, soluble solids, etc., also helping to improve the uniformity in the colour of the fruits.
