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27/11/2025
Beat the Heat: Protecting your Crops with Smart Solutions
Australia’s horticulture sector faces mounting challenges as climate change drives more frequent and intense heatwaves. Heat stress occurs when temperatures exceed a crop’s optimal range, disrupting physiological processes such as photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and reproductive development. Prolonged exposure can lead to reduced fruit set, poor quality, and significant yield losses—sometimes up to 25% in sensitive crops like berries, grapes and vegetables.
Why Heat Stress Matters for Growers
High temperatures accelerate water loss through transpiration, forcing plants to close stomata and halt photosynthesis. This not only stunts growth but also increases vulnerability to pests and diseases. For crops like citrus, avocados and tomatoes—key pillars of Australian horticulture—the economic impact can be severe. As one agronomist put it, “Heat stress doesn’t just hit the plant; it hits the grower’s bottom line”.
Managing Heat Stress with Corteva Solutions
Corteva Agriscience have developed innovative plant performance products designed to help crops withstand and recover from stress events. Three standout solutions—Bio-Forge®, Foli-Zyme®, and WL Zinc Chelate—play complementary roles in mitigating heat stress:
- Bio-Forge® helps in maintaining the genetic potential of plants. In a balanced nutritional program, Bio-Forge can assist with root and vegetative growth development to allow better nutrient uptake, that can result in improved yields. Its flexible application allows growers to use Bio-Forge as required to react to plant stress. Recommended application: immediately after heat stress or as a preventative measure before high-risk periods.
- Foli-Zyme® delivers a balanced nutrient mix to promote new root growth and bud fruitfulness. Applied a few days after Bio-Forge, it feeds emerging growth and helps restore plant balance, ensuring crops resume healthy development post-stress.
- WL Zinc Chelate is a highly available zinc source that supports enzyme activation and hormone synthesis, both critical for stress recovery and new growth. Zinc is often depleted during heat stress, so incorporating WL Zinc Chelate into foliar programs helps maintain vigour and optimise fruit set.
Together, these products form a robust stress management program that empowers growers to protect crop potential and maintain profitability—even under Australia’s harsh summer conditions. For more detailed information download a copy of Corteva’s Plant Stress Guide to help get your crops back on track.
Cam Steer, Portfolio Programs Manager – Plant Performance, explains:
“Applying Bio-Forge together with WL Zinc Chelate and following up with Foli-Zyme helps crops maintain normal growth and recover quickly from heat stress. Bio-Forge reduces stress ethylene and restores cellular balance, WL Zinc Chelate supports enzyme activation and auxin production for healthy regrowth, and Foli-Zyme delivers essential nutrients to sustain new vegetative and root development. This integrated approach minimises yield loss, improves resilience, and keeps crops on track for optimal performance even under extreme temperatures.”
Why this works:
- Bio-Forge: Assists with root development and stress ethylene production to allow better nutrient uptake and recovery from stress that can result in improved yields.
- WL Zinc Chelate: Provides nutrition to support membrane stability, photosynthesis and antioxidant activity under high temperatures, reducing leaf senescence and boosting grain weight.
- Foli-Zyme: Provides a complete nutrient mix to feed new growth and maintain recovery after stress events.
- Combined Program: Recommended by Corteva for proactive and reactive stress management, particularly for heat events.
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