Biofertilizers help against burning and destruction of crops by cold

Low temperatures, varying around 0ºC, cause various damages to crops and often lead to plant death, due to the freezing of plant tissues, causing enormous losses. To alleviate this situation, one of the alternatives is physiological nutritional management through the preventive application of special biofertilizers, which contain organic compounds that act to regulate the amount of solutes in cells.

“When biofertilizers are applied to crops, plants absorb organic compounds. As a result, osmoregulation occurs, that is, the promotion of solute accumulation in the plant, which lowers the freezing temperature of the crop, giving the plants greater tolerance to the stress caused by frost", explains agronomist, Márcio Domingues, PhD. in plant physiology from Unesp Botucatu and technical manager at Tradecorp do Brasil. “With this nutritional technology, combined with adequate management, crops such as beans, corn, coffee, can tolerate temperatures of up to -2ºC without freezing their tissues and, consequently, , without affecting productivity", assures Domingues. Without the action of these biofertilizers, temperatures of 3ºC already harm most agricultural crops.

Preventative application is also important for vegetables in general, such as tomatoes, eggplant and peppers, among others.

How to carry out physiological nutritional management

The recommendation is that biofertilizers be used preventively, at least seven days before the plants are exposed to stress situations. “The producer needs to pay attention to the weather forecast and the climatic indications of his region to start preventive treatment", says Domingues, from Tradecorp do Brasil. Between the application period and the arrival of frost, there will be greater absorption of solutes, increasing the tolerance of plants to this weather.

In addition to preventing frost and intense cold, the effect of these biofertilizers can be prolonged, with effects even on the plants' own development. “Sometimes, even if there is no frost, strong freezing winds can damage crops, causing significant stress on plants, including the death of plant tissue. These treatments protect all crops, with direct benefits in frost tolerance, and indirect benefits in plant development", notes Domingues.

I use dressing, for after frost

If the plantation has already gone through a drastic situation of cold and frost and has not died, the farmer will be able to implement Physiological Nutritional Management in a curative way. In this case, the solutes will also recover the plants by promoting the plant's physiological rebalance. As a consequence, there will be greater plant development that will influence crop yields and the quality of products produced, with less harm to farmers.