Blueberry growers know that success isn’t just about yield, it’s about delivering high-quality fruit that meets market expectations for size, color, and flavor. Achieving that consistency, especially across multiple harvests, can be a challenge as environmental conditions and plant physiology influence how fruit develops and matures.
That’s where biostimulant technologies like Sweetsei™ are designed to help, supporting key physiological processes that influence fruit development and helping growers capture more value from every acre.
Why Fruit Development Matters in Blueberries
In blueberries, timing and uniformity are everything. Uneven ripening can lead to multiple passes through the field, increased labor costs, and missed market opportunities. At the same time, fruit size, coloration, and sugar accumulation all play a role in determining packout quality and overall profitability.
Growers are often managing:
- Variability in fruit ripening across the plant
- Inconsistent berry size and color development
- The need to maximize marketable yield within a tight harvest window
Supporting the plant during the ripening phase can help improve these outcomes and drive more consistent results at harvest.
Introducing Sweetsei™ for Blueberries
Sweetsei™ is a biostimulant designed to support fruit development by influencing the natural processes involved in ripening, sugar accumulation, and coloration.
Sweetsei works within the plant supporting biochemical pathways that contribute to:
- Larger, more uniform berries
- Enhanced sugar accumulation and fruit quality
- Improved color development
The result is a crop that is better positioned to meet both grower and market expectations.
How Sweetsei™ Supports Fruit Development
Sweetsei is formulated with key components that play a role in plant metabolic pathways tied to fruit maturation:
- Methionine supports ethylene-related processes associated with ripening
- Phenylalanine contributes to the production of compounds responsible for color development, including flavonoids, anthocyanins, and tannins
- Polysaccharides support sugar accumulation, influencing Brix
- Potassium helps mobilize sugars and supports fruit sizing
Together, these components help the plant more efficiently manage the transition from fruit set to ripening, supporting both quality and uniformity at harvest.
What We’re Seeing in the Field
Field trials across both southern and northern highbush blueberry varieties demonstrate the impact of adding Sweetsei to a standard grower program.
In Georgia (Southern Highbush):
- 15 days after application, treated plants showed a 12% increase in marketable fruit compared to the grower standard alone.
- Across three harvests, the addition of Sweetsei increased total marketable yield by 1,254 lbs/acre
In Washington (Northern Highbush):
- Treated plants showed an 11% increase in marketable fruit shortly after application compared to the grower standard alone.
- At harvest, total marketable yield increased by 3.2%
Application Guidance
Sweetsei is designed to be applied during the critical fruit ripening window:
- Rate: 32 oz/acre
- Timing: Begin at early ripening (around 15–20% blue fruit), with repeat applications every 7–14 days as needed
This timing allows Sweetsei to support the plant during key stages of fruit maturation and quality development.
Supporting More Profitable Harvests
For blueberry growers, small improvements in fruit quality can translate into meaningful gains in marketable yield and overall return. By supporting the plant’s natural processes for ripening, coloration, and sugar movement, Sweetsei helps create more consistent, higher-quality fruit across harvests.
The result: a crop that not only yields—but delivers.
To learn more about Sweetsei and how it can support your blueberry operation, contact your representative or visit sumitomobiorational.com/biostimulants/products/sweetsei/.