Technology, Innovation, Research and Development are concepts directly compatible with the way our company operates. Constantly seeking innovative products and methods that will help our partners to achieve the best results, our R&D department has established partnerships with University Institutions, Research Laboratories, the respective R&D departments of our suppliers and other institutions where through research, experimentation in Cypriot field conditions and evaluation, particularly interesting findings emerge.
Evaluation of a series of pre-harvest applications to combat the physiological disorder of purple spot and improve the quality of mesquite fruit (CONCEPT/0618/0026)
Financier: Research and Innovation Foundation
Call: CONCEPT Pillar I. Smart Growth and Program: Proof of Concept for Technology / Knowhow Applications.
Project supervision
The main objective of the proposal was to apply for the first time a pre-selective foliar spray protocol of commercial agrochemicals, which has already been successfully applied to other fruit crops, on the indigenous cultivar ‘Karantoki’ to evaluate their effect on the frequency and severity of purple metachromosis, as well as aspects related to production volume and quality characteristics.
To achieve this, we took advantage of five commercially available compounds, controlled by EU legislation. In these compounds we tested the efficacy of the products under Cypriot field conditions, to suit the criteria and climatic conditions of the local farmer. For its successful implementation, PURELOQUAT has focused on three pillars:
- The increase in production volumes and fruit weight of fruit “The increase in production volumes and fruit weight of “Karantoki”.
- Improving the quality characteristics and postharvest yield of ‘Karantoki’ fruits.
- Reducing the frequency and severity of the normal disorder of “Karantoki” fruits from “purple spot”.
Allowing the smallholder farmer to adopt new practices by hiring a scientific expert to reduce the main constraints to growing, marketing and processing the fruit mespilia in Cyprus, PURELOQUAT created a suitable environment for the flourishing of the crop mespilia (intensification of agriculture), as well as the cultivation mespilia to be considered as a viable agricultural product.
Implementation
In the context of its research and development activities, A & E Stylianou Technochemical Ltd has achieved funding for its research proposal “Evaluation of pre-harvest treatments for the management of the physiological disorder of purple metachromatism and the improvement of fruit quality mespilia ” under the acronym PURELOQUAT. The proposal was submitted under the “Proof of Concept for Technological and Knowledge Applications” programme and was supported by the Research & Development Foundation of Greece. Innovation with a funding intensity of 70%, while 30% was covered by the company’s budget.
With the successful completion of the research project, the A&E E Stylianou Technochemical Ltd. has contributed to the optimization and updating of the protocol proposed for intensive mespilum cultivation systems. The protocol includes the application of the agrochemical KELP, a natural biostimulant produced by the extraction of algal Ecklonia maxima, which improved fruit set and led to an increase in the size and thus productivity of marketable fruits, ultimately providing a competitive advantage for the expansion of the development of mespilia cultivation which is favoured in specific mesoclimates of Cyprus.
The PURELOQUAT research project enabled the first detailed evaluation of the overall effect of agrochemicals/biostimulants on mespilia fruit, through the determination of a range of quality parameters such as (a) percentage of marketable fruit, (b) weight, (c) colour, (d) flesh consistency, (e) soluble solids content and (g) volumetric acidity, while allowing the evaluation of their post-harvest behaviour. The research results obtained will be submitted for publication in a reputable scientific journal in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science of the Cyprus University of Technology.
It is important to mention that, through the implementation and completion of the PURELOQUAT project, A&E has been able to E Stylianou Technochemicals Ltd. has strengthened its research and development activities focused on providing farmers with products that help improve the quality and yield of their crops and developed important links with the CUT Fruit Science Group (www.fruitsciences.eu) of the Cyprus University of Technology in order to lead to future collaborations in other competitive research projects. At the same time, it provided its staff with the opportunity to acquire new knowledge, skills and competences.