In agriculture, successfully growing a crop is only part of the challenge; ensuring that it delivers a high-quality harvest is equally important. When assessing produce quality, size is not necessarily the most relevant parameter. Instead, particular importance is placed on organoleptic characteristics and the balance between key quality parameters. This means achieving optimal ripening, with the right balance of soluble solids content (°Brix), acidity, and colour according to market requirements.
In this context, biostimulants can play an important role in achieving optimal organoleptic ripening while, of course, respecting the crop’s natural phenological development. Agricultural biostimulants are currently formulated to support and enhance different stages of the crop cycle, including rooting, vegetative development, flowering and fruit set, fruit enlargement, and ripening.
Focusing on the final stage, biostimulants can contribute to optimal ripening for three main reasons: they improve nutrient-use efficiency, stimulate key metabolic processes, and enhance plant tolerance to environmental stress. All these factors are closely associated with achieving a successful harvest, particularly in terms of fruit quality.
Efficient Mobilisation of Essential Nutrients
By influencing carbohydrate transport and partitioning, biostimulants can facilitate the mobilisation of essential nutrients towards the developing fruit. In other words, the appropriate application of biostimulants at each stage of crop development can support the continuous translocation of sugars and energy reserves from source tissues, primarily leaves, towards the fruit, which is the main sink during the ripening process.
Biostimulants also play an important role in improving nutrient uptake and nutrient-use efficiency by enhancing the plant’s ability to assimilate nutrients supplied through the soil. By promoting the decomposition and mineralisation of organic matter, biostimulants can contribute to soil fertility and support beneficial interactions within the rhizosphere, helping improve the availability of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, boron, and potassium.
Stimulation of Structural Compounds
Biostimulants can stimulate the synthesis and accumulation of structural compounds, contributing to fruit development, size, and firmness. For this reason, they can play an important role in achieving the desired fruit firmness and size. At MAFA, we therefore recommend integrating precision biostimulation at key phenological stages to support optimal cell division and balanced fruit filling, helping to achieve the quality parameters demanded by the market.
Potassium is one of the nutrients most closely associated with fruit size, as it plays a key role in regulating cell turgor and the translocation of photoassimilates towards developing fruit. Calcium, in turn, contributes to cell wall integrity, helping to reduce fruit cracking and improve firmness. However, the availability and uptake of these nutrients are strongly influenced by soil health and microbial activity, both of which can be supported through the use of biostimulants.
The use of colour- and ripening-promoting compounds, including specific amino acids and compounds with osmoprotective properties, can support the mobilisation and accumulation of sugars, vitamins, and polysaccharides. The result? Higher soluble solids content (°Brix), more intense colour development, and more uniform ripening—quality attributes that are highly valued in today’s market.
Stress-Resilient Plants = Higher-Quality Fruit
By reducing the impact of environmental stress during the final stages of the production cycle, we can help fruit reach its full quality potential. Achieving optimal ripening requires plants with enhanced resilience to both biotic and abiotic stress.
A crop capable of maintaining metabolic activity under challenging environmental conditions can achieve improved yield performance and fruit quality. Through the use of beneficial microorganisms and prebiotics, we can support the plant’s natural ability to regulate energy allocation and reduce the physiological impact of stress during the final stages of fruit filling.
Biostimulants and Fruit Ripening: Examples
EXAMPLE 1: Biostimulants containing amino acids and antioxidant compounds can help protect cell membranes and maintain cellular and metabolic integrity under adverse environmental conditions, supporting continued fruit development.
EXAMPLE 2: Seaweed extracts, particularly those derived from Ascophyllum nodosum, are rich in compounds such as alginic acid and mannitol, as well as naturally occurring plant growth regulators, including auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins. These compounds can contribute to plant growth and development and positively influence final fruit size.
EXAMPLE 3: Fulvic and humic acids can improve nutrient availability in the soil and support root development. By enhancing the availability and uptake of nutrients such as potassium and calcium, they can indirectly contribute to fruit size and quality
