Market analyses indicate that changing dietary trends are driving greater demand for high-quality organic fruit with health-promoting qualities, the production process of which is still unclear and requires many years of research. One such fruit is cranberries. The need for this operation arises both from market demand and from the need to provide it with adequate irrigation on light soils with low potential agricultural productivity, using a closed irrigation system combined with water purification systems in the presence of limited water resources. At the same time, in traditional plantations, there is a need to increase the biological activity of the substrate made of sand, through the use of biological preparations to accelerate plant growth and increase the quality of the fruit, and to reduce the risk of phytopathogenic microorganisms infecting the root system as well as the aboveground parts of the plants and the fruit, for which there are no adequate protection measures. In addition, the annually lengthening vegetation period prevents proper colouring of the fruit. An improvement in the uniformity and colouring of cranberries brought about by the application of natural biostimulants is beneficial not only because it increases the acceptance of the fruit by potential buyers or the plants' resistance to stress factors, but also has considerable significance for consumers. This is because such plant products are a rich source, valuable to the human organism, of antioxidant compounds, considered to have anticancer or antimicrobial activity.
Benefits of the implemented operation: The project has developed a significantly improved water treatment technology with the results of the research carried out under the project "Adaptation and implementation of an innovative water treatment technology in a closed irrigation system with the use of biological protection agents and biostimulants on the example of large-fruited cranberry". Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020, Measure "Cooperation" - "Promoting innovation, cooperation and development of the knowledge base in rural areas". The developed technology using a cascade filter baffle system is low-cost, easy to install and maintain. It offers the possibility to be easily scaled up in case it needs to be expanded. Laboratory and field tests carried out have shown it to be sufficiently effective. The use of a cascade filter baffle system allows for a significant reduction in the propagule forms of various fungal species from the water used in closed circuit under field conditions. Model tests have shown that the effect of eliminating fungal propagule forms increases with successive cycles of water flow through the filter baffle system. The developed technology prevents the accumulation of propagule forms of various fungal species in the water supply used in closed circuit under field conditions in the production of large-fruited cranberries.
