Delivering the best product to increasingly demanding customers is the challenge of every season. The balance between quality, condition and productivity is always present, which is why at Ecofos we strive to produce quality and quantity in our entire range of products.
In cherries, producing with quality is an integrative work between factors of vegetative and productive development and agronomic management throughout the year; a work that is built from the season before our expected harvest, specifically in the period of floral induction and differentiation or bud formation concentrated in this post-harvest in the summer months. In addition to being a period of carbon and nitrogen accumulation together with the recovery of the root system, this moment will determine our productive potential and the quality of our cherries next year.
Post-harvest fertilization is a task that we should not neglect, since it is the period in which physiological processes of nutrient absorption and sugar synthesis for plant reserves occur, in roots, trunk, branches, darts, where minerals are removed to these reserve structures in greater proportion compared to others. Post-harvest, it is important to maintain active foliage, in the best conditions since it will directly impact future production. Thus, it is advisable, in established orchards, to apply micronutrients such as Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo periodically.
Another important point to consider post-harvest is that, in the event of any environmental stress, such as high temperatures, the generation of functional flower buds could be modified, which will differentiate into the spurs and at the base of the branches of the season.
Thermal stress due to high temperatures is the main antagonistic factor of cherry productivity, since it coincides with the critical stage of its development, causing an increase in malformed fruits. These malformations (sutures, double fruits, spurs) are due to the abnormal differentiation of the pistil primordia in the previous growing season. These disorders are caused by high temperature stress (greater than 30°C), causing a reduction in the quality of pollen and pistils, altering the pollination and fruit setting process (Almada, 2022).
To avoid these problems, it is essential to use techniques that can keep the temperature of cherry trees close to optimum. One of these techniques is spraying with sunscreens made of reflective minerals plus additives as anti-stressors that significantly reduce the temperature of the tree. These reduce the stomatal and non-stomatal limitations of photosynthesis under high light intensity, improving the water status of the plant and reducing oxidative damage caused by thermal stress (CEAF).
Ecofos thus presents its sun protection and anti-stress strategy to prepare your cherry trees for the next season with the combination of ECOSTOP UV + SUPERGROW, which improve resistance to stress from high temperatures and ensure proper development of flower buds, avoiding fruit anomalies in the next season; for these post-harvest fertilizations of microelements, our Ecofast Complex Plus is the perfect ally to keep our cherry trees active for the accumulation of reserves, elements to exchange for the next season.
