Dormancy allows deciduous species to survive the winter, keeping their metabolism and development dormant. It is a biological adaptation induced by external factors (low temperatures, changes in photoperiod and water status) and internal factors (genetics of each variety) to enter winter recess. However, despite surviving the winter, plants can be susceptible to attack by insects.
pathogens caused by wounds caused by falling leaves, pruning, microcracks due to frost, etc.
To address this problem, MIP-Agro highlights a zero-waste product called Cupratec, which acts as an activator of the plant's immune system, with healing and nutritional action, strategically formulated with gluconate as a complexing agent to increase the efficiency of copper absorption, avoiding product losses due to washing caused by rain and co-formulants that
They induce plant defenses, enhancing the action of conventional fungicides.
In addition, Andrés Leiva, head of Research and Development at MIP-Agro, explained that: “Cupratec is a copper gluconate with 4.8% w/w and 6% w/v, highly soluble, applied via irrigation and foliar depending on the objective.” He also added that: “One of the main advantages of this product is that there is no risk of burning plant tissues, unlike metallic copper, which due to its reactivity and oxidizing capacity can damage active tissues in the plant.”
An important feature of Cupratec is its efficiency and equivalence to the action of other solutions on the market, for example, “In the case of cherry trees, the recommended dose is 1.0 to 2.0 L/ha, equivalent to 60 g/L of metallic copper. In addition, Cupratec is a liposoluble product, which locates copper in wounds and abscission points in falling leaves, being able to more effectively control the entry of pathogens, this is because the absorption of copper gluconate activates the plant's SAR response.” said Andrés Leiva.
It should be noted that the company MIP-Agro has validated the applications of Cupratec, through its R&D department and several external researchers, in different phenological stages of the crop. Before the end of the dormant period, applications have been made in orchards prone to pseudomonas or bacterial canker, where the incidence and severity of the disease in spring was evaluated. These studies have helped to quantify the effectiveness of the product in field conditions.
In short, protecting crops during dormancy and flowering is important to avoid pathogen infections that can reduce productivity. The use of solutions such as MIP-Agro's Cupratec, which can be applied at different stages and phenological states of the crop, and which is highly soluble, stable and compatible with other phytosanitary products on the market, helps prevent and combat these problems without accumulating residues in the crops.
