Abstract: A treatment for relieving or combating stress in a plant before harvesting is described in which an amount of an osmolyte regulator is applied to the plant at a predetermined time before harvesting so as to prevent or reduce blemishes or damage of the skin of the plant. The treatment may be applied to a diverse range of plants such as pears, peaches, cherries and similar fruit, and tropical fruits and nuts. A preferred osmolyte regulator is glycine betaine or other betaine derivatives, and the preferred dosage rate is up to 20,000 ppm in aqueous solution with or without other additives. The osmolyte regulator is applied to the plants by spraying the leaves. Other osmolyte regulators are compounds such as N-methyl substituted amino acids, proline, or choline, stachydrine, trigonelline, and homostachydrine, glycine, glutamic acid, GABA, trimethylamine, or butyric acid.

Abstract: Application of an osmolyte regulator alleviates or combats the effects of stress developing in plants, particularly cotton plants. The osmolyte regulator is preferably glycine betaine and is applied to the growing plants in a dosage of from 0.1 to 10.0 kg/ha. Typically, the osmolyte regulator is applied at the initiation of flowering or shortly thereafter. Application of the osmolyte regulator increases the yield of the plant, thereby increasing the economic value of the plant by reducing the adverse effects of stress.