Crop performance is not determined solely at harvest. Much of its yield potential is built weeks earlier, during key developmental stages when the plant must allocate its resources between vegetative growth, root development, and fruit formation. How efficiently it manages this physiological balance is crucial to achieving both high yields and premium crop quality.

During the summer, many crops enter precisely this period of peak energy demand while simultaneously facing high temperatures and the water stress typical of the season.

To help crops maintain their productive potential during these physiologically demanding stages, eight independent trials conducted during the 2024 growing season under GEP (Good Experimental Practices) evaluated the performance of SPIRUNOL, a biostimulant formulated with 9% free amino acids.

SPIRUNOL Optimizes Key Physiological Processes

SPIRUNOL acts directly on these physiological processes, enabling plants to manage their resources more efficiently during periods of intense metabolic activity.

Thanks to its free amino acid content, SPIRUNOL stimulates root activity and enhances the crop’s metabolic response, supporting continued vegetative growth while promoting the development of reproductive organs. In addition, SPIRUNOL offers a practical agronomic advantage through its dual application method, as it can be applied both as a foliar spray and to the soil. This flexibility allows growers to adapt both the timing and method of application to the specific needs of each crop, maximizing the plant’s physiological response during periods of highest energy demand.

The GEP trials conducted with SPIRUNOL demonstrate that these physiological improvements extend well beyond vegetative parameters, ultimately translating into higher yields and improved crop quality. This relationship is particularly evident in fruit crops.

Results Confirmed at Harvest

The improvements in physiological performance observed during crop development are ultimately reflected in the parameters that truly determine farm profitability: yield, quality, and the commercial value of the harvest.

Across the eight GEP trials, SPIRUNOL increased yield in every crop evaluated, achieving improvements of up to 76% in strawberry, 57% in melon, 45% in pear, 40% in lettuce, 15% in citrus, 13% in both apricot and wheat, and 9% in maize, compared with untreated controls.

In addition to increasing yield, the biostimulant improved several commercially important quality parameters, including soluble solids content (°Brix), fruit size, thousand-grain weight, and reduced fruit cracking in melon. These results demonstrate that a physiologically more efficient plant also produces a higher-quality harvest.

Fruit Crops: Where Every Fruit Counts

In fruit crops, where profitability depends not only on yield but also on commercial quality, the results obtained with SPIRUNOL clearly illustrate how effective physiological management during the summer translates into superior harvests.

In pear, SPIRUNOL application increased yield by up to 45%, accompanied by 39% more fruits per branch, 10–13% higher °Brix values, and 7–9% improvements in fruit size and height.

In citrus, the biostimulant increased fruit set by up to 74%, resulting in 18% more harvested fruits and 15% higher overall yield compared with the untreated control.

In apricot, SPIRUNOL delivered the highest yield recorded in the trial, with a 13% increase, while also promoting greater flowering and increasing sugar content by 5–6%.

The results confirm that crop performance begins to take shape long before harvest. By optimizing plant physiology with SPIRUNOL during the critical stages of the crop cycle, growers can maintain the balance between vegetative growth, root development, and fruit formation, ultimately converting the crop’s productive potential into higher yields, better quality, and greater profitability.