| The sugar levels in a plant are like a gauge of photosynthetic activity. They are also a gauge of the health of the plant; the higher the sugar levels, the healthier the plant.
Plants are every bit as complex as animals. Just like us, they have specialized cells and tissues that help them live and grow. Yet, one of the biggest differences between us is that we have to find food to eat, while plants make their own food. Most plants do this in their leaves through a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a natural process conducted by all plants, in which sunlight, water and carbon dioxide are converted to, you guessed it, sugar. Photosynthesis results in the production of monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose. Autotrophic organisms synthesize sucrose by binding glucose with fructose forming polysaccharides for transport and storage. Respiration occurs when glucose combines with oxygen to release useable cellular energy. If a plant produces enough sugar and distributes it to the right places around its structure, it can greatly contribute to growth, flower formation, and fruit development. The mineralization of nutrients – i.e. the microbiology in the soil processing and making key nutrients available for the plant to uptake — is substantially improved by the plant’s ability to push sugars out via root exudation, feeding the microbes that are doing the work. If you can increase the level of sugar in the plant, the plant will quickly develop full access to whatever minerals it needs — and you get the benefit of accelerated carbon storage increasing the percentage of organic matter in the soil. Low brix (sugar) values in plants mean poor nutrition, and weak plants attract pests. Plants with a brix value over 12 percent are much less likely to have pest issues, if at all. When a plant has deficiencies, simple sugars and incomplete proteins leak out to the surface of the leaves and stems. These are natural attractors of insects. If you have a healthy plant with a high brix level, a spider mite, for example, will not be attracted to the plant. The higher mineral content makes the plant repulsive to the mite, so it goes elsewhere. There are other benefits. Higher brix levels in the plant reduce fungi growth. A high brix lowers the freezing point in plants making them more frost tolerance. Produce with high brix levels will not rot and mold. In a season of lower temperatures and slower growth, increasing brix in plants makes a whole lot of sense! Andaman Ag has a product that has proven to increase brix in plants. CropBioLife, our organic flavonoid, doubled brix levels Malbec leaves last year in Napa Valley! In many cases, it more than doubled the brix levels relative to the control group. CropBioLife significantly contributes to soil health via the acceleration of sugar exudation to feed the microbiology in the soil. |
The Benefits of Greater Brix Levels in Plants
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