The University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), through the Centre for Research in Environmental and Life Sciences and Technologies (CITAB), is developing natural biostimulants for more sustainable cherry production. The project, called BIOsCherry – Innovation and Sustainability in Cherry Production with Natural Biostimulants, is coordinated by researcher Berta Gonçalves and has funding from the "la Caixa" Foundation totaling 307,437.49 euros, of which 149,616.49 euros are destined for CITAB/UTAD.
Initiated in January 2024, the project has a duration of 36 months and aims to valorize endogenous resources to create natural products capable of helping cherry trees respond to adverse environmental conditions. The new biostimulants should increase tree tolerance to different stress situations, contributing to improving productivity and fruit quality.
The work spans from the development of new biostimulants through scalable and environmentally sustainable production processes, to the evaluation of cherry quality and bioactivity. The most promising products will subsequently be tested in cherry orchards in Trás-os-Montes and Fundão, where the impact on tree physiology, adaptation to environmental conditions, productivity, and production quality will be evaluated.
Although the project is focused on cherry tree cultivation, the developed solutions could, in the future, find application in other fruit trees such as apple trees, pear trees, and peach trees. BIOsCherry aims to combine innovation, circular economy, and valorization of endogenous resources, seeking to contribute to the sustainable development of producing regions and to the transfer of scientific knowledge to the agricultural sector.
