In the season 2020 a trial was carried out with biostimulant ‘BeneSTIM Recovery’ on Potatoes in the United Kingdom. There was hardly any rain in the UK and the potatoes where visibly stressed, but good results with BeneSTIM Recovery were reported.
Trial
The variety “Lady Amarilla” was used in this trial. Two fields were used of which one was treated with BeneSTIM Recovery for about 5 times. Although the start with the biostimulant was somehow a bit late it was combined with several regular fungicide treatments in a total dosage of 10 liter product.
Results
Good results with BeneSTIM Recovery were reported during flower setting, fruit setting and also fruit development. Certain critical growth stages during potato growth such as sprout development, tuber initiation and tuber bulking are moments that differences can be made visible. The potato field with “Lady Amarilla” was sampled first in September. In this case the yield was measured and also the average amount of tubers were counted. The data are shown in the table below.
| Untreated | BeneSTIM Recovery | Percentage | |
| Yield | 5,4 kg/m² | 6,0 kg/m² | 10% |
| Yield | 54.000 kg | 60.000 kg | 10% |
| Av. Tubers | 24,5/m² | 30,5/m² | 28,5% |
It appears that with the use of BeneSTIM Recovery there is for sure 10% more tubers than without the use of the biostimulant. Obviously there will be variation across the field, but it suggests that the product has a positive financial benefit. In this trial the treated area showed to have 6.000 kg more yield than the untreated part. Next to that the amount of tubers was at least 28% higher in the treated part. This proved that the tuber initiation had been better in the part that was treated with the biostimulant.
During screening of the crop, pictures were being made to show the difference. This showed the recovery of the crop during the extended periods of drought. The field which was treated with the BeneSTIM Recovery did show a crop that was much more dense. The leaf area index was visibly higher. A higher leaf area index means more photosynthesis and more sugar production which eventually will lead to more energy for tuber development and tuber bulking.
The immediately available energy from the BeneSTIM Recovery gave the treated plants the possibility to cope with all kinds of abiotic stress like heat stress and water stress. Also damages caused by frost, hail and wind will recover much faster by application of BeneSTIM Recovery.
We thank PERRAN POTATOES (Cornwall) for sharing the results.
Click here for more product information or contact us.
