As weather extremes become more frequent, the measure of a successful crop is increasingly not only what it can produce under ideal conditions, but how well it continues to perform when those conditions change.
For producers, this is changing the way crop performance is managed. While genetics, crop nutrition and sound agronomic practices remain fundamental, there is growing focus on helping plants prepare for environmental pressures before these begin to limit growth and productivity.
“Yield will always be an important measure of success, but increasingly we also need to think about protecting that yield potential,” says Venessa Moodley, Biostimulant Lead at Omnia Nutriology®. “The question is not only how a crop performs when conditions are favourable, but how effectively it can respond when drought, heat or other environmental pressures begin to affect growth.”
This is where biostimulants are becoming an increasingly important part of the crop management toolbox.
Unlike traditional nutrition products, biostimulants work by influencing the plant’s own physiological processes. They help stimulate natural responses that support crops as they prepare for abiotic stresses such as drought and heat, helping them maintain growth, recover more effectively and make better use of available resources throughout the season.
“Biostimulants play a key role in supporting nutrient uptake, nutrient-use efficiency, root development and overall plant health,” says Moodley.
“Alongside sound nutrition and agronomic practices, they help optimise crop performance and strengthen tolerance to environmental stress. Early application of the right biostimulant can help prepare the plant before challenging conditions begin to affect growth.”
It is this approach that informed the development of Chitostar™, Omnia’s scientifically developed liquid biostimulant. Powered by chitosan, Chitostar™ acts as an elicitor, helping to activate the plant’s natural defence responses before environmental stress begins to compromise performance.
Once activated, these defence pathways help support stronger cell walls, stimulate defence-related enzymes and enhance metabolic activity. This enables the plant to continue functioning more efficiently under challenging conditions, supporting healthier crop development, improved chlorophyll production, stronger biomass accumulation and more consistent growth throughout the season.
Chitostar™ is designed to complement existing crop nutrition programmes and integrate into standard fertilizer practices. In addition to its biostimulant activity, it supplies zinc, manganese and copper, micronutrients that play an important role in enzyme function and plant metabolism.
The product is registered as a biostimulant under Act 36 of 1947, with its claims supported by statistically robust greenhouse and field trials. Research has demonstrated significant improvements in chlorophyll production and root and shoot biomass under both water-stressed and favourable conditions. Field evaluations across multiple crops have also shown improvements in plant performance that translated into measurable yield responses.
Moodley says the objective is not to eliminate the risks associated with unpredictable growing conditions. “No product can remove environmental risk. What we can do is give producers additional tools to help crops withstand the challenges that inevitably occur during a growing season and support more consistent crop performance.”
This represents a broader shift in how crop resilience is being approached. Rather than waiting for stress to become visible and responding once plant performance has already been affected, producers can increasingly take steps to support the plant’s ability to prepare for the season ahead.
“As growing conditions become less predictable, resilience is going to become an increasingly important part of how we think about productivity,” says Moodley. “The decisions made before stress arrives can have an important influence on how effectively a crop responds when conditions change.”
For producers, the objective remains the same: achieving the best possible performance from every hectare. What is changing is the understanding of what it takes to get there.
Maximising yield under favourable conditions is only part of the equation. Protecting that potential when conditions become challenging is becoming just as important.
For more information, visit www.nutriology.co.za.
