Natural botanical extracts to ripen the fruit in seven days

13/07/2015

Idai Nature wants to eliminate chemistry from agriculture. So that your wish does not remain a chimera, this Valencian company develops technology to obtain food without waste. As? With natural botanical extracts. A trip to the past is mandatory in your mission. «We look for components even in the ancient books of agriculture«explains the general director of the company, Carlos Ledó. For example, they have recovered valerian to "de-stress" plants, in the same way it does with humans. Or garlic to repel birds. Or citrus peels to kill aphids. They recover extracts that have been used throughout history and apply present-day technology to them.

The result is natural compounds that respect the ecosystem while being able to compete with chemical products. During its five-year history, Idai Nature has been forced to evangelize its own technology. «The product without residue is not the poor brother of the chemical,” says Ledó. Although in its beginnings the market share of this technified agriculture was "smaller«Now even multinationals are looking towards this sector, even if it forces them to change their business model. In fact, the main national and European supermarket chains sell foods treated with its extracts.

Why is a farmer interested in using natural solutions for growing food? In addition to respect for the environment, it offers economic advantages. And it is that «increase their export possibilities to more competitive and value-added markets«. Regulations in some countries, such as northern Europe or the United States, are increasingly demanding with more restrictive limits on chemical substances. With its technology, farmers can sell their crops «in any country«. "ANDl 90% of our customers export their productions«Ledó highlights. Like Idai Nature itself, which sells in 24 countries, with special strength in Mexico, Turkey, France, Costa Rica and Egypt. Its botanical extracts, for example, help Mexico export without problems to the United States. «The 70% of horticulture that is consumed in the United States during the winter comes from the neighboring country«Comments.

Its natural solutions are suitable for all plants and all problems. «We have the necessary technology to meet the needs of any crop«says Ledó. They range from fertilization to excess humidity or pest control. The company only has to choose the most suitable one from its wide variety of extracts and formulate a mixture that meets the needs. This task is common in the daily life of your laboratory, which is constantly updated. The best proof of this is the 80 different products it has in its portfolio. «They are like 80 different infusions«compares the general director.

Sweeter fruit in a weekAn example of its R&D work is its latest launch, Idai K Plus, a potassium formulation that presents a mobility «exceptional» inside the plant. The key to the product is the formulation. In this case, the company has opted for the «complexation» of potassium with organic acids. «It is the vehicle that we use to 'raise' potassium through the plant in a more stable way«.

Potassium fattens the fruit, but it weighs a lot, so the plant needs a long time to absorb it and something is always left behind. «The normal thing is about 30 days«Ledó points out. Its formulation allows the crop to assimilate potassium directly without having to consume energy, which is used by the plant to carry out other physiological processes. This energy saving results in better assimilation in the plant tissue, in addition to promoting the uptake of water and nutrients distributed in all the green organs of the plant.

The result of the application of this technology during the fruit fattening stage is an improvement in its size and an increase in sugar content. In this way, the formulation allows farmers to «get homogeneous crops of fruits with greater caliber, better coloration and greater turgor in a completely natural way«.

All this, in record time, because the formulation allows the deadlines to be reduced from 30 to seven days with complete assimilation. Thus, the farmer can «advance the cycles» of their crops. «The sooner it reaches the market, the more added value is obtained because more is paid per fruit«Ledó specifies.

Source: Elmundo.es