EIT Food will approve cystium-k® and ficosagro® technologies for olive groves

And it will do so in the trials in intensive olive groves that will begin next March 2021 in Campo Maior (Portugal)

EIT Food is a food innovation body, dependent on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology of the European Union.

Its mission is to promote and accompany the best initiatives that promote more sustainable systems for obtaining food to bring them closer to customers and investors who are committed to technological transformation in European agriculture.

To this end, they have different action programs, among which the so-called “Test farms” stand out, in which the ficosterra has been selected to participate in the next campaign with an intensive olive grove trial.

What are Test Farms?

Test Farms are specific EIT food programs that put new agricultural companies in contact with farmers and consultants who follow up and validate field trials that provide new technological solutions.

All these trials are funded by EIT Food and, on this occasion, the prestigious international agricultural consultancy TEPRO will have technical support and supervision.

9,250 olive trees tested in Portugal

The trial includes the treatment of a total of 37ha (9,250 olive trees) of intensive olive groves of Picual, Cobrancosa, and Arbequina varieties compared to 100ha of Control surface.

On the one hand, the action of ficosagro®, the soil biofertilizer from ficosterra, will be studied which, thanks to BCB technology, digests and optimizes the application of fertilizers and mobilizes nutrients that may be blocked.

On the other hand, the action of the biostimulant cystium-k® will be studied, a pure extract of macrocytis pyrifera seaweed that, thanks to the cystium technology, the plant receives a high content of phytohormones and oligosaccharides of natural origin.

The first will be applied to the soil, through fertigation and the second will be done by foliar spraying.

The duration of the trial will comprise a complete productive season, starting in spring 2021, and will last until harvest time.

Several soil tests have been programmed: before, during, and after the treatment of the biostimulant ficosagro® to measure parameters such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, etc.

In parallel, measurements of growth and development of shoots, length, and size of the fruit will be carried out.

To complete the study, in the end, productive performance will also be measured.

Trial objectives

This trial has very specific objectives, in line with those that have been pursued in other crops:
I. Increase in the harvest: it is sought to obtain a productive increase
II. Increase in the fat yield in the oil mill: it is intended to achieve an improvement in the fat yield, which allows us to improve the productive results
III. Quality study of the oil obtained: to check the degree of impact on the quality of the oil
IV. Study of the mobilization of nutrients in the clay-humic complex

We do not want to end these lines without publicly thanking EIT food for choosing ficosterra to carry out this trial on a crop that is so relevant to the European economy and ours in particular.

If the objectives are achieved, the benefits will be good for the farmer, good for agriculture and the environment, and consequently good for our society.

Never has profit been so sustainable!