Prevoius page: Sea urchins harvested from degraded coastal ecosystems could become a valuable source of crop biostimulants. Photo: Ava Ocean/Ocean Green project
Early greenhouse trials in northern Norway suggest that sea urchins harvested from degraded coastal ecosystems could become a valuable source of crop biostimulants, offering farmers a locally produced alternative to imported agricultural inputs while helping restore marine habitats.
Researchers involved in the Ocean Green project have reported promising results from tests of a sea urchin-derived biostimulant on lettuce, with treated plants producing significantly more biomass than untreated controls and, in some cases, matching or outperforming a commercial seaweed-based product.
“We’ve been looking at the impact of our urchin biostimulant on lettuce,” says Abirami Ramu Ganesan, research scientist at NIBIO. “What we’ve found is a significant increase in biomass production compared to the control – and compared to a seaweed-based extract as well.”
The findings remain preliminary, but they point to the potential of sea urchin-derived products as a new category of agricultural input. At optimal concentrations, the biostimulant performed as well as, and occasionally better than, a commercial alternative, although the commercial product delivered more consistent results overall.
The work is being conducted in Bodø, more than 1,000 kilometres north of Oslo, where researchers selected lettuce because it grows well in limited greenhouse space and addresses a broader nutritional challenge in northern Norway.
According to NIBIO research scientist Ralf Rautenberger, access
to a wide variety of fresh vegetables remains limited in many northern communities.
“Here in the north, we don’t have any farmer’s markets, for example, and there isn’t always a huge variety available, so green-leaf lettuce is a great choice for us to work on,”he says.
The project also aligns with efforts to improve the nutritional quality of diets. While iceberg lettuce remains one of the most commonly available varieties, researchers see opportunities to encourage production of more nutrient-dense leafy vegetables.
“The range of what we eat needs to be expanded – if only for nutritional reasons. So, if you could introduce a new vegetable for Norwegians to eat, then green lettuce is a good choice,” says Rautenberger.
Beyond lettuce Researchers are already identifying additional crops that could benefit from the technology.
“Other plants like tomato, spinach, cabbage and potato are good candidates, as these crops are highly responsive to nutrient availability and stress conditions,” says Ganesan.
“These crops rely strongly on calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) for key physiological processes related to growth, yield and quality. Our previous results showed a notable increase in Ca and P uptake using sea urchin–based biostimulant, suggesting that these crops are particularly well-suited for further evaluation.”
The focus on nutrient efficiency could prove increasingly important as farmers seek alternatives to conventional fertilizer inputs and as governments encourage more sustainable production systems.
Building a local supply chain The Ocean Green project emerged from efforts to address extensive sea urchin barrens along Norway’s coastline. Overgrazing by sea urchins has contributed to the loss of kelp forests in some regions, damaging marine ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
Project partners see an opportunity to convert that environmental challenge into an agricultural resource.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the vulnerability of global fertilizer supply chains and highlighted the risks associated with dependence on imported inputs. A domestic biostimulant industry based on harvested sea urchins could help diversify supply while creating value
from a resource that alreadyrequires management.
However, significant technicaland regulatory work remains before farmers can access a commercial product.
“The most important thing is to stabilise the chemical components of the urchin,” says Ganesan.
One of the biggest obstacles is preserving the active compounds after processing.
“The main challenge relates to the presence of active gut microbes from sea urchin gonads, which can lead to rapid degradation,” she explains. “To ensure shelf life, the liquid biostimulant requires immediate stabilization through food-grade preservatives or pasteurization.”
Researchers are also examining how harvesting, storage and processing practices affect product quality.
“We are currently working with live sea urchins, which means questions around harvesting and processing effects still need to be tested,”says Ganesan.
Scaling up production The volumes required for widespread agricultural adoption would be substantial.
Ganesan estimates that Norway’s approximately one million hectares of agricultural land would require around 2.5 million litres of biostimulant annually if applied at typical rates. Based on laboratory conversion rates and extrapolation using Shanmugam’s industrial biostimulant trial calculations, this corresponds to ~20,000 tonnes of sea urchin biomass annually and 55-65 tonnes per day processing capacity. (Dr. Shanmugam Munisamy is a research scientist at NIBIO, specializing in biomarine resource valorization and green chemistry.)
Developing that capacity would require investments similar to those needed for a marine biorefinery or seafood-processing facility.
“The required investments resemble a marine biorefinery or seafood-processing facility, with the main cost drivers being biomass logistics, processing equipment and environmental compliance systems,” she says.
Regulatory approval would also be required before commercial sales.
“The product will need to comply with Norwegian fertiliser regulations, including company registration, product quality and labelling requirements, and animal byproduct legislation,” Ganesan says. She notes that traceability, approved processing methods, facility approvals and microbiological safety testing would all be mandatory because the product is derived from animal material.
A circular economy approach One of the project’s central goals is ensuring that harvested sea urchins are fully utilized.
“The residual biomass is not treated as waste but is instead valorized as a soil amendment,” says Ganesan.
Initial trials suggest the remaining material performs well in clay loam soils, particularly as a pH-modifying agent, although further work is needed to optimize application rates and particle size.
For Dagny-Elise Anastassiou, chief impact officer at Ava Ocean and management lead for Ocean Green, the project demonstrates how environmental restoration and
agricultural production canreinforce one another.
“We have Ava Ocean – a fishing company – trying to play its part in correcting something that our industry helped to break in the first place,” she says.
“But it was not just overfishing that damaged our coastal marine ecosystems. Another culprit is runoffs from the agricultural sector, with fertilisers leading to overgrowth of algae that can have potentially disastrous consequences for local biodiversity.
“By using the urchins from the fishery to offer substitutes for these products, we add value both financially and ecologically.”
Anastassiou says the project is designed around a circular economy
model in which every part of the harvested biomass has value.
“When you remove urchins for kelp restoration, you address the cause but are left with a huge volume of urchins biomass,” she says. “Instead of wasting these urchins, we are turning them into a valuable resource. Being able to produce fertiliser alternatives is one way of applying a zero-waste approach to one of the causes of kelp deforestation.”
If the concept proves commercially viable, its potential could extend well beyond Norway.
“This model is replicable,” says Ganesan. “Similar approaches are already being implemented in other regions like Tasmania, where sea urchins are being processed into biostimulants. This demonstrates that the concept is not unique to Norway and can be applied in other regions with urchin overpopulation, such as parts of North America and Japan, where similar companies and initiatives are emerging.”
For now, researchers are focused on validating performance, improving product stability and determining whether the early gains seen in lettuce can be reproduced across a wider range of crops. If successful, sea urchins could provide farmers with a locally sourced input while helping restore some of Norway’s most damaged coastalecosystems. ●
Abirami Ramu Ganesan, research scientist at NIBIO.
Green lettuce seedlings were primed using Seaurchin (SU) biostimulant at concentrations ranging from 0.2% to 2.0% and compared with Acadian (0.2%) as a commercial biostimulant. The photo was taken 15 days after sowing. Photo: NIBIO
To ensure shelf life, the liquid biostimulant requires immediate stabilization through food-grade preservatives or pasteurization.
The residual biomass is not treated as waste but is instead valorized as a soil amendment
Cascadia Seaweed has officially opened an advanced processing facility in Port Edward, B.C., completing a multi-year effort to build a fully integrated seaweed cultivation and manufacturing business. The biorefinery will produce liquid kelp extracts for use as agricultural biostimulants and is expected to process hundreds of tonnes of kelp annually.
For CEO and co-founder Michael Williamson, the opening marks the culmination of a vision that began when the company was foundedin 2019.
"In 2019, my business partners Bill Collins, the late Tony Eithier, and I set out to build a vertically integrated company around cultivating seaweed that would leave the world in a better place for future generations," Williamson says.
The company initially focused on consumer food products, launching seaweed-based seasonings and snack foods under the Kove Ocean Foods brand. While those products remain on the market, Cascadia ultimately shifted its attention to agricultural inputs.
"Staying focused on building a more resilient food system, we committed to the agricultural inputs market in January 2023," Williamson says. "Since then, we've been investing in processing technologies, product development, packaging solutions, and regulatory approvals in both Canada and the United States to bring a cost effective, easy-to-use seaweed biostimulant to North American growers."
The Port Edward facility is the final piece of a value chain that stretches from kelp propagation and farming to extraction and product manufacturing.
"This facility represents a significant milestone in building a fully integrated seaweed-based agricultural inputs company in Canada," says Williamson. "We've built this business step by step from cultivation through to advanced processing, overcoming the challenges of scaling within this sector. With the facility now operational, our focus shiftstoward expanding market adoption and growing our presence in agriculture markets, startingwith North America."
Building a seaweed supply chain Today, Cascadia Seaweed operates five marine farm sites along the British Columbia coast, cultivating sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) and giant kelp (Macrocystis tenuifolia).
Each autumn, the company collects reproductive material from wild kelp populations near its farm locations. Juvenile kelp is then propagated in a laboratory before being transferred to production lines suspended several metres below the ocean surface.
The company typically plants in December and harvests in spring. During the most recent growing season, Cascadia produced approximately 500 wet tonnes of kelp and is targeting 1,000 wet tonnes in the coming season.
Like many agricultural businesses, production is influenced by environmental conditions. However, Williamson says the company expects future gains to come through improved site selection, multi-harvest systems and advances in seeding technology rather than simply expanding farm acreage.
To supplement its own production, Cascadia also purchases cultivated seaweed from established growers in Alaska.
"Our supply is a blend of seaweed from our own cultivation operations and purchased biomass from established cultivators, currently in Alaska," Williamson says. "Growth will be demand-driven."
The new facility has been designed with long-term expansion in mind.
"Our new facility in Port Edward is designed to meet our needs for the next five to 10 years, and we're confident it gives us the capacity to support customers as their programs grow."
Turning kelp into crop inputs Once harvested, the kelp is transported directly to the Port Edward facility, where it undergoesa chemical-free extraction process.
The seaweed is first ground into small particles and mixed with water. A series of tanks, filters and separators then physically break down cell walls to release naturally occurring compounds. The resulting extract is pasteurized before packaging.
According to Williamson, avoiding chemical extraction helps preserve the bioactive compounds that contribute to biostimulant performance.
The process generates two product streams. The primary output is a liquid kelp extract packaged in 1,000-litre containers for agricultural use, either as a standalone product or as an ingredient in other formulations. The company is also evaluating the remaining biomass as a potential feed supplement.
Quality control is built into every stage of production, with testing covering physical, chemical and microbiological parameters, including pH, dissolved solids, heavy metals and microbial contaminants.
Expanding adoption Cascadia markets its products primarily through agricultural distributors and formulation partners. In Canada, its biostimulants are sold under the Kelpivex and Regenakelp labels, while U.S. growers can access products under the FieldKelp name.
The company says its goal is to help growers improve nutrient use efficiency, reduce input costs and
support crop performance under stressful growing conditions.
As North America's largest seaweed cultivator, Cascadia believes its integrated production model offers advantages in supply reliability and product consistency.
"Growers are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency, manage crop stress, and deliver strong yields in an increasingly unpredictable environment," says Marcus McClure, director of sales and marketing at Cascadia Seaweed. "Our role is to provide them with a reliable, high-quality seaweed biostimulant that fits seamlessly into their existing programs."
McClure says the company's combination of large-scale kelp cultivation and specialized processing technology is intended to give growers dependable access to seaweed-derived products.
"By combining large-scale cultivation with advanced processing technology, we're helping North American growers access the benefits of seaweed-derived biostimulants with the consistency and supply reliability they need to succeed."
For Williamson, the new facility represents more than an expansion of production capacity. It is the next step in a business strategy built around marine aquaculture, coastal economic development and agricultural sustainability.
"We started this company because we believed seaweed could be a force for good, for the ocean, for coastal communities, and for the farmers who feed the world," he says. "Everything we've built since 2019 has been working toward that goal."
A research project led by Alberta, Canada-based Olds College Centre for Innovation in partnership with Cascadia Seaweed is exploring how seaweed-based biostimulants can be incorporated into conventional crop nutrition programs, including their
compatibility with commonlyused herbicides.
With fertilizer costs remaining a major concern for growers, researchers are evaluating whether seaweed-derived products can help maintain crop performance while reducing reliance on synthetic inputs.
Early trials at Olds College suggest that wheat, barley and canola can maintain — and in some cases exceed — standard yields with fertilizer rates reduced by up to30 percent when seaweed biostimulants are included in the program. The findings point to a potential opportunity for producers
to lower input costs while improving nutrient-use efficiency.
The project objectives include assessing the ability of seaweed-based biostimulants to reduce conventional fertilizer requirements, and evaluating product performance and tank-mix compatibility in major Alberta field crops. ●
Michael Williamson, CEO, Cascadia Seaweed
Cascadia Seaweed has officially opened an advanced processing facility in Port Edward, B.C. Photo: Cascadia Seaweed
Cascadia Seaweed operatesfive marine farm sites alongthe British Columbia coast, cultivating sugar kelp andgiant kelp.Photo: Cascadia Seaweed
Cultivated giant kelp(Macrocystis tenuifolia).Photo: Cascadia Seaweed
What are the requirements for biological formulations (biocontrol and biostimulants) compared with more conventional products? A textbook answer comes from Dr. G Vijaya Raghavan, CEO DVS Biolife LTD and R& D Manager at Agrilife PVT, India, author of various papers on microbiology and biotechnology as well as six volumes of Comprehensive Medicinal Herbs: “The most critical requirements are stability, viability, compatibility, and delivery efficiency.”
In practice, stability means ensuring the bio products do not degrade, mould or fall out of solution. Viability refers to the capacity of the biological active to survive the intended lifespan of the product from formulation to delivery; compatibility involves the ability to be mixed with other agri-inputs, and delivery efficiency relates to the ability of the product to remain effective after sitting on the shelf for a few months. Simple, then? Chris Gamble, founder of consultancy and bespoke formulator Bio Yield Care, adds another – make sure the product does not block nozzles or pipes. “This is the biggest single way to lose orders and have complaints from users. So low or no clogging risk. We test spray all products before release.”
“Some clients also don’t like colour variations if the product colour varies,” adds Gamble.
Industry expert, and founder of the consultancy i-Formulate, David Calvert offers another angle when talking to New AG International: “I’ll be a little bit controversial in saying that formulating with biologicals is no different to formulating with any other active ingredient. So, if you want to formulate anything, you need to understand and characterise what that active ingredient is.”
Understanding what you want to formulate is the key driver, emphasises Calvert, who has delivered training courses on the subject. “How does it need to be delivered, how long does it need to be delivered for, and how is it going to be delivered isn’t dramatically different to the way one might deal with a conventional chemical,” expands Calvert.
Formulators tend to feel more comfortable with chemistry notes Calvert.
“A microbe obviously can’t be milled down without destroying it. If you want to make a biological suspension concentrate, you need to
be gentle with the way it’s processed. But that's again no different to understanding how you deal with a normal product.”
David Calvert, founder of the consultancy i-Formulate, giving a workshop on Formulation at the New AG International Annual conference and exhibition, April 2026.
Efficacy not easy Formulation plays a vital role in the efficacy of biological formulations. Gamble stresses that efficacy does not just come from the original count of colony forming units (cfu) per gram. Rather, the formulation needs to maximise their survival.
Gamble has tested batches of formulated mycorrhizae in the past and found them to be nothing more than dust when they tried to use them. For an active ingredient to do its job, a formulation needs to preserve the living organisms or plant extract during its ‘life cycle’ from manufacture, storage, and transport to final application. Along the way, the active needs to be shielded from temperature fluctuations, protected against UV exposure, oxidation, and desiccation.
Once applied, a biological’s efficacy may be affected by environmental conditions, such as soil type, or the natural microbial population. With a seaweed extract, Calvert points out that it is important to know if it is sensitive to pH.
In its white paper on formulation for biologicals in agriculture, the specialty chemical producer Croda raises the intriguing point that a biological’s efficacy may be affected by the way it was grown. “For example, fungi grown under optimal food and light designed to maximise yield may be less biologically robust than those grown in harsher conditions.”
Staying positive When it comes to microbial actives, they are split into gram-positive and gram-negative and spore formers and non-spore formers. All gram-negative microbes are non-spore forming, along with some gram-positive ones. The microbes that do form a spore are generally seen to offer greater stability.
“As long as you don't expose it to too much water,” says Calvert. “Hence why most of the gram-positive products have been dried.”
The most famous gram-positive spore former is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Often delivered as a dry flowable powder, Bt can be spray dried. “That’s something that people think you can't do to a microbial, but spray drying doesn't subject it to a great deal of heat,” continued Calvert.
Bringing the spores ‘to life’ requires either water or a food source, which might be a sugar source included in the formulation. The broth from a manufacturing fermentation process can be retained as a food source and used in the formulation.
On the shelf Gamble suggests that a workable shelf life of 12–24 months is commercially desirable especially if moving the product to other countries. “When a microbe or biology is out of the packet life gets hostile so hopefully a formulation can also help it survive or buffer it against the challenges, which include soil conditions, temperature, UV, moisture or just other competing natural microbes,” expands Gamble.
So how do formulators manage stability and shelf life in biologicals?
It again depends on the active, says Calvert. “If it has a sensitivity to water, then you will look to remove water from the formulation, it could be a dry powder or it could be formulated in oil dispersion.”
Storing microbes as dry soluble forms is becoming the standard, offers Dr. Vijaya Raghavan. “So concentrated products keep storage higher, transport lower and usually longer shelf life.”
Another route is cold storage. Nematode-based products are often delivered cold so that the nematodes are effectively kept in suspended animation. Their activation is temperature-related and requires a nearby food source when they ‘come alive’.
Another step can be freeze drying. “Freeze drying is used a lot, but to me that's a very expensive way of drying anything,” notes Calvert.
The market requirement for shelf-life has also attracted specialist technology companies to find solutions for fermentation and formulation.
Wieland Reichelt is CEO of Vienna-based Evologics Technologies, a startup focused on helping customers develop and scale manufacturing processes, and supply product up to tonne-scale. Evologics has a formulation technology called Bioshield, which the company says achieves up to
240x higher stability for sensitive biologicals. “To date we have validated Bioshield on six different products,” Reichelt said in an interview with New AG International’s publication 2BMonthly.
Chris Gamble, founder of Bio Yield Care
Delivery mechanisms Gamble summaries the objective of formulation as getting the microorganism to the place where it’s needed. “That can be on the surface of a seed. This requires a coating but not a sticky one. The microorganism might be required in the rhizosphere, which can either be through seed treatments or seedbed fertilizers. It might be on a leaf surface, which requires a sticker or spreader adjuvant.” Gamble points out that you do not want the stickers or spreaders to dry too fast. Another objective of formulation might be to get the active into the plant itself.
Seed treatments According to Incotec, a brand of Croda, there are three types of seed coating that can be used to incorporate biologicals and additives: film coatings, encrusting and pelleting. Film coatings tend to be thin and uniform. Encrusting involves coverings the seeds with a thicker coating increasing the seed’s weight, while pelleting involves covering the seed in an inert substance along with the biological active, and creating a uniform pellet. The crop type will determine which coating is most suitable.
In its white paper, Croda says the “microbe needs to be inactive when applied on the seed and remain inactive until the seed is planted in the soil, which means storing the treated seed in the right conditions for both seed and microbe.”
There are also some newer techniques of coating under investigation. Croda highlights biopriming, which is where microorganisms create the protective layer themselves known as a biofilm. “We may be able to stimulate this effect during formulation,” states the white paper.
Liquid formulations Formulation type can depend on the extraction process for the active. If the extract is coming from a leaf, then in simple terms the leaves will be mashed up and put in a liquid, and then the plant extract will be removed by taking the liquid off.
In this way, a lot of plant extracts will come out of the extraction process as liquids, according to Calvert. These can then lead to liquid formulations. “If they are extracted as a solid, then you'll formulate it as a suspension concentrate. If it's an oil, then you're just faced with the normal formulation type, so it can become an oil in water emulsion if you want,” says Calvert.
Distillation through the fractional method can also be used to enhance the purity of the extract before formulation. In the case of eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil, Calvert explained that you could distil it so that you get a bit more purity and it remains in liquid form ready for formulating.
In contrast, some foliar products will start out as soluble powders that have been vacuum sealed. This preserves the microbes in an inactive state until the powder is dissolved in water.
Other components will form part of the formulation. Croda raises the point of component purity in its white paper. “Low purity may mean harmful residues, so increasing purity can reduce harm or increase the potential concentration of a useful ingredient. Higher purity can sometimes double survival rates.”
Which leads to the problemsof mixing.
Mixed mixability Are there some biologicals that don't mix well?
“I think if they don't mix well, then it means you haven't got good dispersion in your formulation,” begins Calvert. “So, if it's a powder, you could add a dispersant to make it disperse in the tank. But if you've already tried it and you still have issues with dispersion, then you need to look at what dispersant you could add to that powder.
“So long as your dispersant doesn't harm your microbe, then you'll be all right. If it's an oil… there's loads of ways of getting an oil to disperse into a tank. That's what emulsifiable concentrates do.”
Problem microbes People tend to talk about gram-negative bacteria being difficult to formulate because they are more sensitive.
Back to Dr. Vijaya Raghavan: “Gram-negative bacteria are generally more difficult due to their fragile outer membrane, sensitivity to desiccation and osmotic stress, and poor survival in conventional carriers. Similarly, anaerobes, mycelial fungi with delicate hyphal structure, and
bacteriophages present formulation challenges. Multi-strain consortia are also complex due to inter-microbial competition and stability issues during storage.”
Companies are looking to overcome these issues. Evonik is one that has developed liquid formulations for gram-negative bacteria.
Evonik’s method begins by taking the liquid culture of gram-negative bacteria and converting it into a biopowder. During the spray drying process, a sugar is coated onto the bacteria and onto the silica particles that are added.
The biopowder is then suspended into a liquid carrier solution. Evonik says the carrier fluid is biobased, which protects the microbes during storage, keeping them viable for usage. “Once the liquid composition is mixed with water by the grower, the sugar from the bacteria and silica particle dissolves and releases the bacteria into the solution. This sugar in the solution now serves as a nutrient source for the microbes to begin growing,” said the company in Agropages’ Biological Special 2024.
Development trends What do the experts see as the most influential developments in formulation?
“I would say that waking up to the value of formulation has been one,” affirms Calvert. “The co-formulant suppliers have woken up to an opportunity there and have started to provide information on what co-formulants are compatible with what microbials.”
This has also come by looking at how products are formulated in other industries. Microplastic regulation has led to a lot of new developments in terms of encapsulation using biodegradable polymers. In agrochemicals, the universally used isocyanates are not compatible with microbials. “So biodegradable encapsulation materials are now becoming available in other areas,” continues Calvert. “That will be opening up more volume, and will make them more accessible to agrochemicals, whereas, if it was just for agrochemicals, people might not have developed them.”
Gamble also cites encapsulation as a means to improving stability, shelf life and targeted release. He also mentions a topic that is circling the fringes of agri-inputs. “Nanotechnology is particularly interesting when used as a delivery platform rather than as an active ingredient itself, because it can protect biologicals, improve adhesion, and enable controlled release while potentially reducing variability in field performance, which makes people like us look good!” he says with a smile.
References
Formulating Biologicals for Agriculture
Croda Agriculture, March 2023
To download, see later in this issue, link here.
Incotec (brand of Croda)
https://www.incotec.com/en-gb/seed-technologies/seed-applied-biologicals-and-additives
If it has a sensitivity to water, then you will look to remove water from the formulation, it could be a dry powder or it could be formulated in oil dispersion.
Gram-negative bacteria are generally more difficult due to their fragile outer membrane, sensitivity to desiccation and osmotic stress, and poor survival in conventional carriers.
