Biostimulants and biocontrol can help in growing more robust crops, the key is finding a combination that works for the cropping system
Crop resilience
Biostimulants and plant enhancers are becoming more and more popular, as growers are looking for new ways to create more robust crops. With increased biodiversity surrounding the plant cropping systems become more resilient. Some microbes can even help in the uptake of nutrients. However, there are so many biostimulants on the market that choosing the combination right for the cropping system can be challenging.
Fit for purpose
Choosing the right combination of biostimulants starts with identifying which areas are most important to improve. Is there a need for better nutrient uptake, or do you want to replace (part of) fertilizer with biostimulant fertilizers? Or is there a need for more root growth and branching? These are just some examples, each crop and every grower has different needs. This means that there are no one size fits all solutions when it comes to biostimulants. So before implementing biostimulants in your growing strategy pilot experiments can provide insight which biostimulants do/don’t work. We have experience with guiding these trials for soft fruits, and can help with the experimental desig so that the most information can be obtained from the trials.
When it comes to testing the efficacy of biostimulants it is important to expose the plants to harsh environments and challenge them with pests, pathogens and diseases so that the robustness of the biostimulants can be tested. The improvements in plant growth should be obtained even when the plants face challenges.