El Niño has generated extreme heat waves in many regions of Brazil, which are expected to occur until mid-April 2024. In other locations, excess rainfall has also been damaging agricultural production.
The most affected crops tend to be vegetables and fruits, but the heat has also been damaging grain and sugar cane crops. In this scenario, one of the alternatives to increase the resilience of plants of climate stress is using bioactivators with algae Ascophyllum nodosum extract.
This type of algae originates from a specific region of the North Atlantic, a place that faces extreme temperatures, reaching minus 20 degrees celsius in winter and plus 35 degrees celsius in summer. As a result, the algae Aschophyllum nodosum faces big environmental variations and adverse conditions that cause it to produce defense substances to survive in this environment. Using these compounds produced by the algae as bioactivators, they pass on these substances to plants, and provide greater resilience and protection against biotic and abiotic stresses during their vegetative and reproductive development cycle, which will provide the plant with greater production.
According to Marcelino Borges Brito, Market development manager at Koppert, heat causes very high energy expenditure in plants, which can lead to a reduction in vigor and during the reproductive phase, the loss of grains and fruits. “We are going through very critical scenarios in different parts of Brazil, in many places it was necessary to replant due to losses and as a result many producers will have a compromised second grain harvest.”
The current reality is considered extreme, but there are biological tools capable of minimizing the impacts that plants go through during this period. “Bioactivators that promote greater root development of the plant make it possible to seek moisture in the deepest parts of the soil, reducing the consequences of lack of water and promoting cooling of the plant, due to water translocation.”
Depending on the crop, the use of the bioactivator can provide benefits to plants throughout the cultivation cycle. “The product can also be applied foliarly, to stimulate the opening and/or closing of the stomata to hold more water in the plant, preventing it from sweating excessively to maintain its cooling and also make better use of its microorganisms and macronutrients”, explains Brito.
In relation to perennial crops, such as coffee, application to the leaves is also important to reduce climate impacts and ensure better plant recovery. “Use can occur during the flowering phase, fruit setting, or even grain filling, as Aschophyllum nodosum can help in each phase by stimulating the plant to produce the necessary hormones to express its genetic potential.”