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FEATURE COLUMN
Making the Cut
Every harvest gets better with Hicure®
The cut-flowers value chain is constantly
demanding for high quality and sustainably
grown produce. Most retailers in Europe are
imposing stringent quality requirements
for exporters to ensure strict adherence to
good agricultural practices (GAP). Growers
have no choice, but to follow the market
requirements to the letter. Non-compliance
would undoubtedly mean loss of market.
Having recognized the key quality challenges
bedeviling most growers, we embarked on
a mission to test a new plant biostimulant
recently introduced into our product portfolio.
Hicure®, a biostimulant based on amino
acids and peptides was tested under diverse
environmental conditions for a period of two
years to assess its overall impact on yield and
quality of cut-flowers.
Hicure® is an eco-friendly biostimulant that
readily provides the plant with the essential
amino acids and peptides which are vital for
crop growth.
When Hicure® is applied on cut-flowers and
other ornamental crops, either as a foliar spray
or soil application, we have proved without a
doubt that growers are able to consistently
achieve more marketable produce even under
stressful environmental conditions. Hicure® is
formulated as a liquid and this offers growers
the convenience in application and handling.
Additionally, when used as a foliar there are
no visible residues on foliage.
The contents of the amino acids, proline and
glycine, are higher in Hicure® compared to
other biostimulants in the market. These amino
acids are essential for many physiological
processes and act both as chelating and
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anti-stress agents.
Hicure® is easily taken up by the leaves and
roots and this saves the plant both biochemical
and biological energy for the synthesis of
proteins.
Hicure® plays an integral part during
crucial physiological crop growth phases
such as vegetative resumption, flower and
bud formation, root formation and growth,
chlorophyll synthesis, cell wall formation and
nutrient chelation.
When used under sub-optimal growing
conditions such as cold or hot conditions,
water and nutritional deficiency as well as
disease pressure, growers are still guaranteed
of their returns on investments through
enhanced crop yields and quality.