Fertilizer International 519 Mar-Apr 2024
31 March 2024
New biostimulant developments
PRODUCT INNOVATION
New biostimulant developments
Biostimulants are emerging as mainstream products with major fertilizer producers – including Yara, Mosaic, Fertiberia and ICL – launching their own biostimulant lines and expanding production capabilities. Smaller innovative companies, meanwhile, such as Azotic and Fyteko, remain the mainstays of the sector and are continuing to being new products to market. Other players such as Den Nouden/GrowSolutions are targeting the expansion of organic fertilizers.
MARKET COMMENTARY
Biostimulants enter the mainstream
Biostimulants cover a diverse range of products designed to improve nutrient use efficiency and protect crops from abiotic stress. Growers generally purchase biostimulant products to improve crop yields and/or crop quality.
The main types of biostimulant include:
- Seaweed and other plant extracts
- Humic and fulvic acids
- Inorganic salts such as phosphites
- Chitin and chitosan
- Anti-transpirants
- Amino acids and peptides.
The global market for biostimulants (including microbial biofertilizers) was estimated at $2.56 billion in 2021, according to a report by S&P Global. This compares to a market size of $2.32 billion in 2020 and $2.1 billion in 2019. The market is currently growing at around 10 percent per annum (Fertilizer International 515, p20).
There is increasing acceptance and integration of biostimulants into the wider fertilizer and agricultural markets. This is illustrated by rocketing sales, the spate of new product launches, and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.
A selection of leading biostimulant companies is shown in Figure 1. New entrants to the sector, including incumbent crop nutrient companies, have generally built up their biostimulant portfolios through M&A and/or partnerships with start-ups and smaller market players.
Arguably, the last 12 months has been a breakthrough period for the emergence of biostimulants as mainstream products, with major fertilizer producers – including Yara, Mosaic, Fertiberia and ICL – launching their own biostimulant lines and expanding production capabilities.
Yara takes a leading position
Yara International launched YaraAmplix™ , its new biostimulants product line, on the market in December last year. The range was unveiled to great fanfare at the Biostimulant World Congress in Milan, Italy. The launch was in response to increasing demand for products that can protect crops against climate change and optimise nutrient use efficiency, the company said.
“Climate change is putting many of the world’s most popular foods such as maize, tomato and wheat at risk of reduced crops. With the average global temperature on earth having already increased by over one degree celsius in the last 100 years, agriculture is now experiencing more extreme weather than ever before,” Yara said in a statement.
Yara has developed a comprehensive portfolio of biostimulants over the last five years – with year-on-year sales of these growing at more than 50 percent since 2018. These biostimulants will now become part of a new brand family, YaraAmplix, with several new products in the pipeline for 2024.
Yara’s biostimulant range is mostly formulated from natural ingredients, including seaweed and plant extracts, with individual products designed to deliver targeted effects such as better resistance to abiotic stress, higher nutrient use efficiency, and crop yield and quality improvements.
“Extreme weather is destroying crops all over the world with drought, flooding and frost. Biostimulants helps farmers make their crops stronger, and more resilient to stress from climate change. Farmers are the first line of defence against food insecurity, and we are adapting to their needs with solutions that allow them to prosper when the environment is not always on their side,” said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara’s CEO.
Yara is a vocal backer of regenerative farming and what it calls a “nature-positive food future”. The company expects YaraAmplix to become a key offering for farmers in the future by complementing its standard fertilizer portfolio as part of a more holistic crop nutrition package.
Yara’s biostimulant products are backed by independent scientific trials. These are being carried out in all regions to evaluate and validate their effects for different crops under various conditions. To date, results have shown that biostimulants deliver an average yield increase of 7.5 percent over control treatments, with a ‘win rate’ of 74 percent, based on a 359 point dataset collected between 2018 and 2020.
The launch of YaraAmplix, by increasing the company’s focus on regenerative agriculture, is why Yara is taking a leading position on biostimulants, says Rejane Souza, Yara’s SVP for global innovation.
“Popular foods we all rely on, such as tomato, maize, soybean, and citrus to name a few, are at increased risk of yields loss due to extreme weather, so lowering greenhouse gas emissions to avoid a worsening scenario is key. As part of the solution, biostimulants are an essential tool to help reduce loss of food due to climatic stresses while improving nutrient use efficiency, a critical lever when it comes to enabling farmers to keep their business profitable and sustainable.,” she said.
The YaraAmplix range is currently available in China, Brazil and France and will be gradually rolled out globally during 2024.
In May last year, Yara also announced that it was building a major new speciality fertilizer and biostimulant production plant near York in the UK (Fertilizer International 515, p7). Virtually all the plant’s output will be exported to international markets when it is completed next year.
“Sales of YaraVita specialty crop nutrition products and biostimulants have grown fivefold in the last 20 years. These products are formulated to meet the specific needs of crops throughout the growing season and to help them increase their resilience to climate change,” Yara said in a statement.
Bringing bio-inhibitors to markets
Spain’s Grupo Fertiberia made its first major foray into the biostimulants market two years ago with the acquisition of Trichodex, a Seville-based biotech company founded in 1991.
Trichodex develops, manufactures and markets a range of functional agricultural products, including biostimulants and biofertilizers, based on patented biological processes. These ‘bioactive’ compounds protect crops against disease, pests and abiotic stress and boost profitability by improving yields. The company currently markets its biotech products in a dozen countries in Europe and Latin America.
The purchase of Trichodex is part of Fertiberia’s strategy to offer high added-value biofertilizers and biostimulants as part its product portfolio. “The combination of Trichodex biotechnology with the development of innovative products from Grupo Fertiberia will provide farmers with cutting edge sustainable tools to improve their crops,” commented Javier Goñi, president of Grupo Fertiberia.
In a market first, Fertiberia launched the bio-inhibitor NSAFE in December last year. NSAFE is designed to prevent nitrogen losses, protect soil biodiversity and increases yields.
The product acts as a nitrification inhibitor and prevents losses from soil (leaching) and to air (volatilisation). Consequently, nitrogen remains active in the soil for longer, allowing greater uptake by the crop.
NSAFE is the first biological product on the market with a nitrification inhibiting effect, according to the company. “This technology allows fertilisers to enrich the soil through their microbial nature, thus offering a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemically synthesised inhibitors,” Fertiberia said in a statement.
NSAFE took more than six years to develop and has been launched in Spain prior to other international markets. It is being incorporated into Fertiberia’s Nergetic DZ+ fertilizer, a nitrogen top dressing, before being rolled out to the rest of the company’s Nergetic product line.
NSAFE is more efficient than chemical inhibitors, according to Fertiberia, as it acts on nitrate nitrogen (NO3) – not ammonium nitrogen (NH4+ ) as synthetic inhibitors do – absorbing this in protein form, before releasing it as organic nitrogen at the end of its life cycle.
“This pioneering technology protects nitrogen and prolongs its activity, remaining active in the soil for a longer amount of time and allowing plants to absorb it more slowly,” said Alfredo Segura, Fertiberia’s commercial director. “And it does so with a twist: respecting microbial life and without having an impact on microorganisms present in the soil”.
Mosaic launches biological product platform
The Mosaic Company launched Mosaic Biosciences, a new global platform for its biological crop products, in August 2023. The move is designed to help Mosaic introduce new biostimulants and biofertilizers that complement and enhance the performance of traditional crop nutrient products.
“The technologies from Mosaic Biosciences enhance crop health and support the natural biology in plants and soil, ultimately maximizing the yield potential of every field… Mosaic continues to invest in biological technologies to bring best-inclass technology to growers.,” Mosaic said in a statement.
The platform will market and sell Mosaic’s growing portfolio of biological products. Quoting analysts, the company says the market for agricultural biologicals could reach nearly $30 billion by 2029.
“Mosaic Biosciences is a natural extension of our strong crop nutrition portfolio,” said Floris Bielders, Mosaic’s VP for strategy and new business platforms. “Rooted in science and proven in the field, our portfolio of biological technologies supports the existing biology in plants and soil to deliver healthier, stronger crops.”
The Mosaic Biosciences portfolio includes the biofertilizers PowerCoat® and BioPath® . Both products incorporate proven strains of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and are designed to improve nutrient use efficiency and enhance plant growth and vigour. Other products within the portfolio help mitigate abiotic stress from drought, heat and salinity.
Mosaic is using its new platform to “actively build a pipeline of new biologic products to drive improvements in plant health, stress management, nutrient uptake, and crop yield”, the company said.
“Our portfolio of nutrient use enhancement technologies is just the start for Mosaic Biosciences,” said Bielders. “In the coming months and years, we expect to bring additional biological products to the market – all of which will be backed by science and in-field experience. Biologicals are crucial in the evolution of crop nutrition and will elevate the potential in every field.”
One of these new products is PRB9™ , a liquid biostimulant (0-3-3) designed to combat abiotic stress. This ‘next-generation’ biological product contains an osmolyte compound which is naturally produced by plants as a coping mechanism when they are under abiotic stress.
Plants divert energy away from growing to protect their health in response to stressors such as heat, drought and even high-salinity irrigation water, says Mosaic. By adding PRB9™ , either before or at the first signs of stress, hydration within the plant’s cellular structure is maintained. This helps to balance the osmotic pressure inside each cell, thereby mitigating the leaf curling and wilting caused by abiotic stresses such as heat, drought or salinity.
PRB9™ is tank-mix compatible with most standard crop protectants and liquid fertilizer solutions, and can be incorporated into foliar sprays, fertigation solutions or pre-blended with liquid fertilizers. By supporting water and nutrient transport during stress events, the product helps improve crop yields by maintaining plant growth and vigour.
Capturing RNAi technology
Fertilizer producer ICL and biotech company PlantArcBio have successfully collaborated on the development of a novel biostimulant. The new product uses RNAi technology to maximise the natural yield increasing mechanisms of plants. It has been shown to successfully improve crop yields while having a minimal impact on the environment.
This novel biostimulant has significantly increased seed weight per hectare for canola crops in early-stage field trials. ICL and PlantArcBio are planning larger-scale field trials that will test the new technology using both commercial sprayers and standard farming practices.
Greenhouse trials for soybeans and rice are already in progress, with early results showing good potential. ICL and PlantArcBio have already filed a joint patent for their new RNAi biostimulant covering its application on multiple crops.
“The use of novel biostimulants based on RNAi technology helps promote sustainability, by reducing the use of chemicals in agriculture,” said Hadar Sutovsky, ICL’s VP for external innovation and the general manager of ICL Planet. “[it] does its work, then rapidly disappears from both the plants and the environment, lasting no more than a few days, as it is highly biodegradable and also leaves no residual footprint.”
“The positive canola field trial results constitute another milestone in strengthening PlantArcBio’s capabilities in the development of RNAi-based products,” said Dror Shalitin, the founder and CEO of PlantArcBio. “ICL, a market leader in crop nutrition products, is a great strategic partner for us to commercialize this sustainable technology worldwide.”
FYTEKO
Can biostimulants protect crops from climate change?
A Belgian start-up is determined to help farmers through the climate crisis with its first product, a ‘drought-proofing’ biomolecule.
More likely than not: that’s the probability that world mean temperatures will pass the 1.5 degrees global warming threshold before 2027, according to the World Meteorological Organisation’s latest assessment.
A sobering verdict. But for the Brussels-based pioneering biomolecular manufacturer, Fyteko, those four words were a vindication that the route it chose as a business nine years earlier was the correct one.
It was 2014 when Fyteko’s co-founders, Guillaume Wegria and Dr Juan-Carlos Cabrera, discovered the hidden properties of a hitherto neglected molecule, hydroxy-cinnamic acid oligomers (HAO), found in the cell walls of plants.
In fact, HAO turned out to be a remarkably powerful ‘signal’ molecule. When applied as a foliar or seed treatment, it ‘primes’ the growing crop against future abiotic stresses, enabling it to endure drought, extreme temperatures and other weather events, all of which are expected to become more common and more severe, if the WMO is proved correct.
The two bio-entrepreneurs acted quickly to patent their discovery and commercialise the use of HAO by establishing Fyteko as a vehicle to successfully synthesise this biomolecule at scale.
“The WMO report is sobering, but the truth is we just don’t know how serious climate change will be for agriculture,” comments Guillaume Wegria. “What we do know is that it’s not going to be easy – growing crops is going to become more difficult.
“And one of the most significant climate-induced challenges for the world’s farmers will be dealing with crop stress. Crops respond to stress by slowing growth and development, leading to depressed yields and loss of quality,” he adds.
A ‘climate-smart’ biostimulant
Wegria calls the HAO biostimulant ‘climate-smart’: “Essentially, it’s a ‘droughtproofer’. By allowing cells to co-ordinate their activities in response to external stimuli and internal processes, HAO ensures the plant doesn’t overreact when it encounters stress.”
Wegria and Cabrera were thrilled to discover that even in the absence of recorded stress events, HAO can influence treated crops to the extent of a 14 percent yield increase.
“This phenomenon suggests crops can experience sub-clinical stress events, asymptomatically, that go unnoticed. HAO appears to limit the effect of those minor events,” says Wegria.
This specific effect relies on a very simple mode of action. HAO, by bringing about a change in gene transcription, triggers a ‘remapping’ of metabolic processes, pathways and cell functions – these being identical to the biochemical responses observed in crops subjected to stress.
So, just as a vaccine primes human immune systems, HAO primes the plant. When incidences of abiotic stress occur later, these are recognised by the plant, triggering the same biochemical response. Plants primed in this way are better able to withstand stress events and, equally valuably, have a better recovery rate post-stress.
“The effects of seed treatment are most interesting,” says Wegria. “HAO seems to accelerate germination and early seedling establishment. We know the importance of early establishment in optimising a crop’s yield potential, but the signal molecule takes this further, offering additional protection against subsequent abiotic stress.”
In experiments where plant seeds were treated with HAO, it triggered a faster response to stress from the internal defence mechanisms of young plants. Osmo-protection increased, for example, as did antioxidant synthesis.
Strong field results
A range of maize field trials were conducted using Fyteko’s HAO product NURSEED® HC between 2017 and 2022. These were carried out for three different production levels: a lower inputs system (yield below 65 dt/ha), a medium level system (yield 65-100 dt/ha), and an intensive system (yield above 100 dt/ha).
The highest yield increase (12 percent) was observed in the low production plots. Medium production saw yield increases of 5.3 percent, while the intensive system reported a 3.9 percent yield increase (Figure 1).
NURSEED® HC delivered a high return of investment for the farmers. On average, they gained between $120 to $140 per hectare, depending on the production level.
Commercial interest
These results and ongoing positive findings have allowed Fyteko to establish successful partnerships with key players in the European seed market.
Technisem, a French company engaged in marketing quality seeds in West Africa – a tropical area vulnerable to abiotic stress – was quick to see the potential of the technology, and NURSEED® MAX soon featured on hundreds of tonnes of Technisem seeds.
Next in line was a partnership with Limagrain, a major player in European field seeds. This saw NURSEED® HC included within the company’s maize seed portfolio. The product was included in Limagrain’s European maize offer in 2023, before its roll out to other regions and more crops.
Interest in Fyteko’s unique biomolecules has continued to grow, with French seed technology specialist Cerience becoming the latest collaborator. This new agreement introduces NURSEED® HC to the forage seed market.
Most recently, Fyteko agreed a distribution contract with Janssen PMP, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica, in September 2023. This development extends Fyteko’s European reach, as well as bringing farmers in Africa, Australasia and the Americas – including 12 US states – on board with this drought-proofing product.
The European Patent Office’s recognition of HAO in 2023, by granting Fyteko’s first European biostimulant patent, was another boost for the company.
Avoiding unpredictable cocktails
“Biostimulants are the fastest-growing category in plant protection worldwide. But the vast majority of commercial biostimulants are a cocktail of different molecules,” notes Wegria.
“This can create problems in a likefor-like comparison against conventional agrochemicals because it’s difficult to generate consistent results from multi-compound formulation for analysis and product refinement.”
A major problem with multi-compound biostimulants is how to integrate them successfully with other products, bio-based or conventional.
“Something that looks good in the lab may perform very badly in the field, because you must understand the other interactions,” explains Wegria.
“Furthermore, that kind of experience can be a hindrance in boosting farmers’ adoption of biostimulants. There have been many ‘bio’ products that have overpromised and underdelivered.
“Our biomolecule is a single compound, applied at low rates. We know how it will behave, and in assessing its performance in existing seed treatment processes it displays excellent compatibility.”
Fyteko’s strategy of engineering biostimulant formulations for specific uses, coupled with its focus on natural and novel signal molecules, is a cost-effective and efficient approach, says Wegria:
“We’re one of very few companies developing biostimulants based on single, identifiable active ingredients that have a specific effect on the crop. We can tailor development to meet the unique requirements of each farming segment. That’s going to be the hallmark of the next generation of bioproducts.”
Next in the pipeline
Fyteko’s biomolecule development pipeline – its ‘bio-based technology discovery platform’ – already has biostimulants, herbicide bioenhancers and biocontrol products underway. These are creating what is effectively six different ‘patent families’ as part of Fyteko’s intellectual property (IP) strategy.
The whole of this portfolio has potential for increasing and optimising crop yields, according to Fyteko.
“Agri-biomolecules are a brave new world. It’s what we need to see in tomorrow’s agriculture – if we’re to maintain productivity and improve our sustainability,” sums up Wegria.
Acknowledgement
Reporting and interview by Adrian Bell, Agromavens.
AZOTIC TECHNOLOGIES
Got nitrogen?
Can biological nitrogen fixation help farmers become more resource-efficient and change their relationship with synthetic fertilizers – by enabling crops to draw down their own nitrogen from the atmosphere?
In answering this question, it was the puzzle of Brazil’s sugar cane, grown to supply the country’s nascent fuel-ethanol industry, that caught the attention of researchers in the 1980s. Why were crops in less productive areas of the country thriving despite receiving little or no nitrogen fertilizers?
The answer finally emerged in 1988 when scientists isolated a new species of bacteria – Gluconocetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd) – from sugar cane samples. This was found to provide the sugar cane with significant amounts of nitrogen.
The discovery of Gd, a type of bacteria that lives inside the plant cell (an endophyte), would be the first step in a thirty-year project to harness the power of these types of bacteria – and in doing so change the perception of farmers around the world about how to deliver nitrogen to their crops.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are not new to agriculture. Soybeans, peas, beans and alfalfa – all members of the legume family – have been exploiting the fertility these impart to soils for thousands of years.
Yet only in 1838 was it established that these types of crops had the ability to fix nitrogen. It then took another 50 years to work out that another class of microbes, rhizobacteria, were responsible. These enjoy a symbiotic relationship with legume crops by taking up residence in characteristic root nodules.
Going back to endophytes, these are now known to be hosted by around 300,000 plant species. Researchers have established that they promote plant growth, counter stress conditions and improve micronutrient uptake. Some even release chemical inhibitors to prevent competing plants from growing too close to their host!
Agricultural researchers now consider endophytes to be a new, broad class of biological crop inputs, based on these valuable characteristics. Indeed, several are already in commercial use.
But Gd’s unique behaviour, like those of rhizobacteria, is of more fundamental interest. As a diazotroph, it can capture inert nitrogen from the atmosphere and turn it into a plant-accessible form, thanks to the presence of nitrogenase enzymes.
“Legumes are a great crop to have in any rotation,” says Tom Tregunno, global business development manager for Azotic Technologies, the British company that is now commercialising the Gd research. “Not only can they fix their own nitrogen, but they leave residual nitrogen available in the soil for use by the following crop.
“It’s not surprising, then, that the Holy Grail for plant scientists has been to try to replicate the mechanism we see in legumes in other crops such as cereals. But such is the specificity of rhizobacteria – each legume favours its own species of bacteria – that it’s not been a simple task.”
This highlights the appeal of Gd: it’s a naturally occurring bacteria that scientists don’t need to modify in any way. Unlike rhizobacteria, it’s not plant specific. On the contrary, there’s a growing body of research and trials showing how it works across a spectrum of crops, according to Tregunno.
In-cell nitrogen
Azotic’s efforts to bring the product to market – it’s sold as Envita in North America, and Encera across Europe – builds on the decades of research conducted by the University of Nottingham in the UK.
Gd is applied to crops either as a foliar treatment or in-furrow at planting. Either way, the bacteria quickly colonise the whole plant, using enzymes to enter the cells. There, it establishes a ‘vesicle’, and reproduces as the plant grows, to spread throughout the plant.
“The vesicle is Gd’s equivalent of the root nodule we see in legumes – except it’s not limited to the root,” says Tregunno. That vesicle is a miniature nitrogen-production factory, where atmospheric nitrogen is turned into ammonia, NH3 .
“As well as being species and crop-agnostic, Gd also has the edge over rhizobacteria because it’s producing nitrogen exactly where the crop needs it – in the leaves, where photosynthesis takes place. Here, growth and yield are ultimately determined.
“With Gd pumping out nitrogen, it gives the crop accessible nitrogen where and when it’s needed.”
That season-long supply of in-crop nitrogen holds much appeal. While it is possible to supply crops with small amounts of nitrogen frequently, little and often, this is not generally feasible or practical. Instead, to be cost effective, farmers make fewer but larger applications of nitrogen – effectively ‘banking’ it in the soil to be used by the crop later.
Not all that nitrogen reserve makes it to the crop, though. While conservative estimates put the lost nitrogen at around 50 percent, as much as two-thirds of the soil-applied nitrogen won’t make it into the crop. These large-scale losses are due to run-off, volatilisation to the atmosphere or consumption by soil bacteria.
On-farm use
Azotic’s research has now demonstrated Gd’s compatibility with commonly grown field crops, including cereals, potatoes, maize, sugar beet, cotton, rice, soybeans and alfalfa, as well as protected crops like tomatoes.
Azotic doesn’t claim Gd is a complete substitute for conventional nitrogen fertilizer, as Tregunno is keen to stress:
“Crops treated with Gd will either reduce their demand for synthetic nitrogen by between one-fifth and one-quarter while maintaining yield, or they’ll increase yield within a standard fertilizer programme.
“However, that’s only the ‘basic’ offering. Depending on the crop, we’ve observed a slew of extra effects.”
What is common across all crops is Gd’s ability to provide nitrogen when it’s most needed – during times of abiotic stress, such as excess heat and drought.
When temperatures rise, plants react by reducing transpiration, explains Tregunno, with this, in turn, limiting the ability to take up soil nitrogen. The same effect is observed when soils dry out, as plants can only take up nitrogen when there is sufficient soil moisture.
“When treated with Gd, there is a considerable and valuable effect on late-season N management in any crop,” says Tregunno. “Gd provides plants with nitrogen even under adverse conditions, the result being that the crop stays green and keeps photosynthesising for longer.”
In US silage maize, for example, independent trials have shown an average yield increase of around 1.8 t/ha when Gd is used across different nitrogen regimes. Crop quality was also found to have increased, specifically crude protein and essential amino acids, when treated maize was tested at Penn State University. Farmers also reported improved plant vigour in addition to the yield increase.
“Maize is a crop that is often in the spotlight as a ‘troublesome’ crop when it comes to nitrate management,” notes Tregunno. “So, to offer growers the ability to reduce nitrogen applications without reducing yield is pretty compelling.”
Sacks more potatoes
Potatoes are another crop requiring careful nitrogen management. As nitrogen is the key macronutrient influencing tuber size, application timing is everything.
“Early nitrogen goes into leaf production and a vigorous canopy; late nitrogen maintains that canopy and increases tuber size,” Tregunno explains.
“Because Gd helps ameliorate any nitrogen shortages, it prevents the plants from entering a stress phase that will cause them to lose part of their set. When this happens repeatedly – and it need only be for the few hours in between irrigation events – the grower ends up with the wrong size tubers that won’t make the grade for the intended usage, be it chipping, processing, maincrop or salad.”
Trials have revealed Gd’s positive effects. In one instance, Envita-treated potatoes returned an average of 39 sacks more ‘Grade A’ tubers, and a yield increase of 4.4 t/ha.
Understanding the science
While Gd works by providing an in-cell source of nitrogen throughout the season, it owes its effects on vigour and quality to the type of nitrogen it produces.
“Crops’ reliance on the nitrate form of nitrogen favours vegetative growth,” Tregunno points out. “Gd, however, produces nitrogen as ammonium.
“That acts to promote root growth, bringing benefits that include better drought resistance and improved overall nitrogen uptake. It also increases reproductive growth so, in flowering crops such as oilseeds and cotton, that means more flowers.”
Thoughtful launch strategy
Azotic has also put a lot of effort into researching how Gd performs in tank mix. “Growers want to minimise the number of times they have to go into the field to make an application,” acknowledges Tregunno.
“Biologicals, biostimulants, biomolecules – these are unfamiliar product classes. Farmers are well-versed in using agrochemicals and other conventional crop inputs – many practise their own agronomy too – but anything ‘bio’ is still unfamiliar.”
While Azotic’s launch strategy – the product was first available in North America in 2019, before going on sale in the UK and four EU countries in 2022 – focused on how Gd interacts with agrochemicals in tank-mix, it was also backed by extensive trials and demonstrations. These took the company’s product beyond the usual confines of small plots and out onto field-scale crops.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression, as Ag biologicals have consistently overpromised and underdelivered,” says Tregunno. “Yes, sometimes the fault lies with the product itself, but it’s also true that some manufacturers have not recognised that biologicals need a different approach.
“More variables come into play – soil type, the soil’s state of health, previous crops, varietal differences, timings, and so on. We’re extending our own trials, and also offering growers a performance guarantee as a way to allow growers a risk-free way to start working with Encera and Envita out on farm.
“We’re helping growers devise ways to make it work in their farming system. And we’re also conducting an enormous, ‘large area trial’ from which to understand how it works in different farming systems and how those variables affect its performance.
“Data analysis will clarify its potential to change farmers’ relationship with synthetic nitrogen. With a product like this that can work in every crop, we have a rare chance to transform agriculture – improving food security, reducing nitrogen fertilizer pollution from GHGs and nitrate runoff into our waterways, all the while helping to drive higher production and increased profits at the farm gate,” sums up Tregunno.
Acknowledgement
Reporting and interview by Adrian Bell, Agromavens.
DEN NOUDEN / GROWSOLUTIONS
Why organic fertilizers?
Previously, you were unlikely to read many articles about organic fertilizers in Fertilizer International magazine. But times have changed and there is now growing consciousness about the vital importance of soil health all around the world. To the extent that the organic fertilizer industry is currently growing at more than 11 percent per annum and is on track to generate global revenues of $27 billion by 2030, according to Kings Research.
Natural organic fertilizers are a key input – one that is helping transform standard farming practices and improve agricultural sustainability in our view. They have clear potential to add value to soils in numerous ways by, for example, improving organic matter levels, creating better water retention, lowering carbon footprints and, of course, optimising long-term crop yields.
Battle of the soil: inorganic vs organic fertilizers
Plants – just like humans – need certain minerals for proper growth. While soils normally already have these nutrients, plant growth is negatively impacted when they are lacking. Fertilizers are therefore essential in making sure soils have the right balance of nutrients for healthy plant growth.
The main component of inorganic (mineral) fertilizers are soluble salts derived from non-renewable resources. Plant roots can quickly and beneficially absorb these salts. Yet, sadly, earthworms and soil-based microbes do not benefit when these nutrients are present in surplus. Indeed, excessive use of inorganic fertilizers has detrimental effects on the environment. These notably include the pollution of underground and surface waters from soil leaching, soil acidification, and the gradual depletion of soil micro-organisms. As a result, soils become degraded and their structure deteriorates along with their capacity to retain water – ultimately hindering plant growth.
The most productive agricultural soils generally contain between 3-6 percent organic matter. This is exepected, given the linear correlation between soil organic matter and crop yield. Unfortunately, almost half of the European soils have low organic matter content, principally in southern Europe, but also areas of France, the United Kingdom and Germany (Figure 1).
Much of the planet’s biodiversity resides in the soil. For each farm acre (0.4 hectare), for example, the underlying soil can contain around 400 kilos of earthworms, 1.1 tonnes of fungi, 700 kilos of bacteria, 60 kilos of protozoa, along with 400 kilos of arthropods and algae, according to some estimates, as well as small mammals. On a numerical basis, a single gram of soil can hold one billion bacteria, with only five percent of these being known and discovered types currently.
GrowSolutions from Den Ouden
“GrowSolutions, now part of the 75-year-old Dutch family company Den Ouden, has more than 25 years of experience in organic fertilizers. Our concept focuses on the idea that a healthy soil is the foundation for healthy, growing plants,” says Sander Selten, the company’s commercial manager. “For us, soil improvers like bacteria, mycorrhiza, compost, organic fertilizers and biostimulants are the way for growers worldwide to transform standard growers practice into an agriculture with less dependency on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and finally growing more resilient crops”.
GrowSolutions is a new company formed in 2023 from the merger of Ferm O Feed and Plant Health Cure (PHC), so bringing together two established product lines under one banner. Ferm O Feed is renowned as a specialist in organic fertilizers and biostimulants with a history stretching back more than 30 years – plus a global distribution network spanning 75 countries – while PHC is a leader in mycorrhiza technology and soil biology.
By combining these capabilities, GrowSolutions can offer a comprehensive and integrated package of premium products and services to growers worldwide. Valuably, this enhanced offering includes a production plant at Helmond in the Netherlands. This manufactures a range of soil enhancers, solid and liquid organic fertilizers and biostimulants, all designed to meet the diverse needs of modern agriculture.
Five pillars
The new GrowSolutions concept – and its product offering to the market (Figure 2) – is built on the following five pillars, these reflecting the different components of soil and plant health:
- Soil health: fungi and bacteria products
- Root zone optimisation: mycorrhizal fungi, trichoderma fungi, bacteria
- Nutrient management: granular and liquid organic fertilizer both plant as animal based
- Efficient uptake: natural fulvic acid
- Plant resilience: biostimulants based on harpine and various amino, humic, fulvic acids
GrowSolutions believes this will resonate with growers worldwide – being an easy concept to grasp and understand.
