Water stress in blueberry can easily affect quality and production as blueberry plants are very susceptible in this sense. High temperatures, intense radiation and water shortage severely impact production, affecting fruit quantity and quality with repercussions on both the current crop and future projections.
Effects of water stress in blueberry
Under water stress, blueberry plants close their stomata to minimize water loss, limiting transpiration and photosynthesis. As a consequence, nutrient absorption and transport are hindered, causing nutritional deficiencies and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. This damages cellular structures and affects metabolic processes, reducing plant vigor and resistance. Thus, water stress in blueberry shows wilting, leaf scorch and premature foliage drop in blueberry plants.
In addition, water stress in blueberry also affects the most critical stages of fruit set and ripening. Thus, fruits may show limited growth and alterations in size, weight, firmness, acidity and sugar content, with negative consequences for marketing.
To compete globally and maintain quality standards for export, an innovative approach is essential for growers to adapt to climate change, increase productivity, reduce environmental impact and strengthen agricultural resilience. In addition, the use of quality biostimulants integrated into a climate-smart agriculture strategy.
The synergy of glycine-betaine, proline and antioxidants to prevent water stress in blueberry
Futureco Bioscience has developed a biostimulant to counteract water stress in blueberries: Fitomaat. Fitomaat is a unique biostimulant with high concentrations of glycine-betaine (80%), proline (10%) and antioxidants formulated in soluble microgranules. This biostimulant is specifically designed to prevent and correct osmotic imbalances and promote crop resilience to water stress.
The synergistic combination of active ingredients in Fitomaat gives this product several forms of action against water stress:
- It contributes to the osmotic adjustment of plant cells, maintaining water balance and preserving cell pressure and turgor.
- It acts as an antioxidant by eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that accumulate during oxidative stress.
- Protects cellular components by stabilizing proteins and enzymes, ensuring the structural integrity of the cell membrane and facilitating the exchange of ions, nutrients and molecules.
Fitomaat has proven to be effective in promoting vigor in blueberry field trials conducted in Peru (Piura), reversing stress and preserving crop yield and quality under conditions of high temperatures and high relative humidity.
Fitomaat’s microgranule formulation ensures rapid solubility, as the porosity of the microgranules allows for accelerated transfer of active ingredients to sensitive parts of the plant, such as fruits, roots and young leaves, where they accumulate to act synergistically. This counteracts metabolic dysfunctions in stressful situations, providing a fast and long-lasting effect, superior to that of glycine-betaine alone. In addition, FitoMaat is certified organic, making it a safe and sustainable option for organic farming.
If you want to know more about blueberry crop management, you can read our scientific article on Bestcure, our biological control solution: BestCure for Botrytis control in blueberries. Don’t forget to follow us on our social networks to keep up to date with the latest news both on blueberry crop management and other key export crops, as well as on the products that are leading the way in sustainable agriculture.