New results reaffirm its power in reducing cracking and
pitting and increased fruit firmness.
The interest in silicon-based products on the market is growing day by day. Its benefits have been widely studied and proven in all types of crops. These include:
-Stimulation of growth and yield, especially under conditions of water stress.
-The reduction of water loss through transpiration and the consequent improvement in the shelf life of crops.
-Improved tissue strength and rigidity, which makes stems, leaves and fruits firmer. This leads to, for example, greater hardness in the fruit, a reduction in skin disorders (such as cracking, lizard skin, pitting or bark collapse), greater stem thickness in ornamental plants and improved lodging in cereals.
-Increased resistance to biotic stress, but also to abiotic stress, i.e. stress caused by drought, sudden fluctuations in temperature or water availability, or salinity. This resistance is achieved mainly by reducing transpiration through improved internal water management, increasing photosynthesis and improving the antioxidant protection of the crop.
Nowadays, and especially in fruit trees, the application of a high concentration silicon product has become the great ally to achieve a significant improvement in the quality and post-harvest life of the fruit.
In the case of cherry cultivation, the application of silicon is especially relevant. Due to the increase in supply worldwide, the quality of the fruit has become a determining factor for profitable marketing, since quality and post-harvest life requirements must be met to adequately address the
the journey of the fruit to its final consumer, sometimes very far away.
We could say that today, improving the quality and post-harvest life of fruit is a requirement, not a whim.
To achieve this, silicon is becoming increasingly important. A highly concentrated silicon-based product is becoming one of the best tools to reduce the significant losses that cause problems such as cracking, pitting or lack of firmness in the fruit.
The silicon concentration of a solution is fundamental and directly proportional to its result. As is, especially in foliar applications, the particle size: the smaller the size, the better the coverage and penetration in leaves and fruits.
For this reason, it is essential to opt for a silicon product with a high concentration of silicon and manufactured with a technology that allows for very high coverage and penetration into the tree.
The effectiveness of a highly concentrated silicon treatment has been confirmed in one of the latest trials carried out in Chile, where the product manvert silikon - a biostimulant with one of the highest concentrations of assimilable silicon in solution (36%p/v) and produced with Neovert tech technology - has managed to considerably reduce pitting and increase the firmness and size of cherries (in this case, the Skeena variety). In this trial, manvert silikon was compared with a phospholipid-based supplement.
Analysing the results, a larger calibre (in the XL size and on average) and greater firmness were observed in the sectors treated with Manvert Silikon. The reduction of cherries affected by pitting was more than half in the plot treated with Manvert Silikon compared to the commercial standard, increasing the amount of fruit suitable for marketing by more than 20 percentage points.
This success is added to many others that demonstrate the great importance of the application of this type of highly concentrated products with proprietary technology in cherry cultivation.
The Manvert brand
Manvert is the brand name of Biovert products, a Spanish company dedicated to the research, manufacturing and marketing of biostimulation and advanced plant nutrition solutions for productive agriculture. Since 1988, its goal has been to offer solutions that generate benefits, that is, innovative, effective and low environmental impact solutions to maximize crop yield and quality.
