Effectiveness of the biodegradable product FitoBotryfun in improving the fruit quality of 'Čačanska Bestrna' blackberry

Blackberry (Rubus subgen. Rubus Watson) cultivar 'Čačanska Bestrna' has long been the most commonly grown blackberry cultivar in the Republic of Serbia, owing to its high adaptability to respective agro-environmental conditions. In recent years, in order to increase the production of biologically valuable food, the fruit growing technology has been directed towards the concepts of integral and organic production. Blackberry grey mould (Botrytis cinerea Pers.) is an economically significant agent of the disease, which during the ripening phase reduces fruit yield by about 30% each year. In this regard, the efficacy of the preventive and curative influence of foliar applied FitoBotryfun was examined for two consecutive years. Incidence of grey mould (degree of infection), morphometric traits (fruit weight and dimensions), chemical traits (soluble solids content, total and inverted sugars, and sucrose content) and fruit mineral nutrient content [macro-(Ca, Mg) and microelements (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn)] were recorded. A high variability was found in the degree of infection between the different disease management practices (organic and conventional) and significant differences were found in the contents of sugars, Ca, Mg and Fe in the fruit. The variations over the years were observed for the same quality traits, except for fruit height. The results obtained suggest that the foliar application of FitoBotryfun during the growing season can be effective in reducing losses in the quality of blackberry fruit during ripening as well as negative effects of conventional control methods on human health and the environment.