These products fell into the taste of Brazilian agriculture and show a strong growth trend in the main crops, such as soy, corn, coffee, cotton, beans and sugarcane, as well as in minor crops. Due to the results obtained with its use, sales of specialty fertilizers have been growing year after year. According to the entity that represents the sector, Abisolo (Brazilian Association of Technology in Vegetable Nutrition), BRL 10.1 billion in specialty fertilizers were sold in 2020, an increase of 41.8 percent over the previous year. For 2021, the estimated growth is 30 percent.
According to Ithamar Prada, vice president of marketing and innovation at ICL, even with strong inflation in raw material costs, Brazilian producers invested heavily in the use of technology in fertilizers and special nutrition. In an exclusive interview with New AG International, he states that the objective is to “maximize productivity and profitability to also take advantage of the good value of agricultural commodities.”
“The geopolitical instability that we are experiencing in a large region that produces raw materials for the fertilizer industry affects the availability of products and production costs,” notes Prada. “The moment brings challenges to the entire chain. Regardless of the situation in 2022, seeking to increase nutrient efficiency is something that should be seen as a permanent strategy, not only due to the aspects of business profitability and availability of raw materials, but also due to the increasing need to fulfill an environmental agenda, sustainable, positive.”
What do producers look for? According to Prada, Brazilian producers seek performance, economic returns and products that are supported by research. “We can mention improved efficiency fertilizers, foliar nutrition and biostimulants as products well assimilated by the market,” he says.
On the other hand, the products that still have a field to grow in this market are those that promote an increase in the efficiency of nutrient use. Prada maintains this is one of the “most important agendas of the special nutrition sector, which develops products seeking to increase performance in a way that the producer maximizes his crops with the use of nutrients in the right place, source and time,” but “combining aspects of sustainability.”
“The development of technologies in plant nutrition aims to increase the efficiency of nutrients, reducing losses in the soil-plant-atmosphere system,” he says. “An example is the use of controlled-release fertilizers, which significantly reduce losses in the process, generating increased productivity, and environmental and operational gains, due to the lower need for fertilizer installments. For seed and foliar nutrition, the understanding is the development of source-based products that enhance the bioavailability of nutrients.”
Prada notes it is difficult to point out the major nutritional deficiencies in the main Brazilian agricultural regions because Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, with a wide range of soil types, as well as a diversity of agricultural management combinations. However, he highlights in micronutrients the “deficiency of boron to a large extent, but with several areas with deficiency of zinc, copper and manganese.”
“As for secondary macronutrients, it is common to find areas deficient in sulphur and magnesium. Not only the factors linked to soil fertility but also the increase in productivity and
...seeking to increase nutrient efficiency is something that should be seen as a permanent strategy
Ithamar Prada © by Beto Oliveira
the cultivation of more than one crop per year increase the need for nutrients in general, due to the greater consumption to support the increase in production in the same area,” he adds.
Markets and companies Characterizing the companies operating in this segment in Brazil, Prada says the “work of the academic community, consultants and the companies themselves in the development of field research has driven the adoption of technologies.” For their part, producers who already use more conventional products are also the “first to adopt special fertilizers. With the results presented in the field, other farmers end up adopting them next.”
“Domestic production is important for the segment, allowing proximity, competitiveness and the development of solutions focused on the reality of the local producer,” he says. “It is worth mentioning that, even when we talk about national production, we have to consider the need for some minerals and other raw materials imported along the
chain. Therefore, even with national production, we are in a dynamic market impacted by exchange rate variations, availability and other global issues. The Brazilian producer buys from companies that provide him with security. In this sense, being positioned as a complete company, with development, production, administration and sales locally is an important factor.”
Finally, when asked whether there will be a mass migration from conventional fertilizers to specialty ones, Prada points out a clear trend. “Higher technology producers are the first to adopt specialty fertilizers. With the results presented in the field, other farmers end up adopting them.
“We understand that the work of the academic community, consultants, and companies themselves in the development of field research has driven the adoption of these technologies,” says Prada. “It is difficult to point to mass migration, but certainly, there is a continuous trend of substitution, due to the need for increased performance associated with sustainability. We see this movement as a trend that is independent of global crises.”
Bioinoculants – ascending stars Bioinoculants, called simply inoculants, are products that contain micro-organisms that act in some way in the development of plants. They can act alone or together, in the availability of nutrients, in the production of hormones, increase in the root system or other mechanisms that promote an increase in the development of plants.
According to Solon Cordeiro de Araujo, managing partner of SCA Consulting and Training, the products most widely used in Brazil today are inoculants based on the bacterium Bradyrhizobium, a nitrogen fixer that transforms nitrogen from the air into a form usable by plants. In second place are inoculants based on the Azospirillum bacterium, which works both as a moderate nitrogen fixer, but mainly as a producer of hormones for the plant, with products registered for corn, wheat, rice and Brachiaria. It is also used together with Bradyrhizobium and Rhizobium in the co-inoculation of soybeans and beans, respectively.
Solon Cordeiro de Araujo
“Recently, three more types of inoculants are assuming a significant position in the market: inoculants based on bacteria of the Bacillus genus for phosphorus solubilization, micro-organisms to increase tolerance to water stress, and mycorrhizae,” says Cordeiro de Araujo.
Market size The potential market size for inoculants is equivalent to the Brazilian area of soybeans, corn and beans in Brazil, says Cordeiro de Araujo. “Add to this the area of pastures, inoculation with Azospirillum, and we have the immense dimension of the potential market. Adding up all the products, we have more than 100 million doses of inoculants being used in the country.”
On the other hand, he says, there are two major challenges: the first is the recurrent attempt to put nitrogen fertilizer on soybeans and beans. “Research data show that this practice is totally useless, except in very exceptional cases. But there are still people who insist on spreading this wrong practice,” he maintains.
“The second point is the dissemination of the practice of on-farm inoculant production. Inoculants are biological products of high complexity in their production system and require specific equipment, maintenance of sterile conditions and highly qualified personnel in microbiology. There have been many situations in which the farmer is deceived by the promise of the ease of producing inoculants without the minimum microbiological conditions.”
According to Cordeiro de Araujo, Brazilian producers have adhered very strongly to the use of
inoculants, with more than 80 percent of soybean producers using these products annually. However, he points out there is plenty of room for new generations of inoculants produced using modern molecular biology techniques, making the products even more effective. There is also plenty of room for mycorrhizal inoculants, recently introduced in the country, but still imported.
Speaking of the companies that operate in this segment in Brazil, Cordeiro de Araujo highlights that the national production of these special inputs has extensive experience and a good industrial park, both quantitatively and qualitatively. “Imports exist, which is good for the competition that must exist, but national companies are capable of serving the Brazilian market. There is no discrimination in this regard. It depends on trust in the brand and commercial conditions,” he notes.
Cordeiro de Araujo analyzes the moment of the specialty fertilizers market in Brazil as "highly favourable” because the search for more sustainable inputs, compatible with the environment, as well as the increase in prices of traditional fertilizers, makes it necessary to seek alternatives to maintain productivity levels with lower costs and less dependence on imported products.
The consultant also sees on the horizon a “total replacement of traditional fertilizers by biological ones,” but gradually. “It will always be necessary to provide soils with the chemical elements needed to nourish plants (phosphorus and potassium in particular). The biological ones make the recycling of these elements in the soil, making them more available to the plants, therefore, they increase the efficiency and allow a reduction in the application of conventional fertilizers, but they do not completely replace them, except in the case of nitrogen fixers, since this element is present in abundance in the atmosphere,” he explains.
“A strong increase in the use of biological products in agriculture is expected this year, due to the global movement towards greater use of sustainable inputs and in view of the situation of fertilizer prices. For the medium term, the same is expected: a continuous and significant increase in the use of biological products and other specialty product lines,” Cordeiro de Araujo concludes. ●
Iodine should be considered to be a plant nutrient
Dr. Katja Hora, Research Manager of SQM International N.V.
Iodine is a mineral nutrient needed by plants The elements that are currently considered to be plant nutrients are C, H, O, N, P, K (primary nutrients), Ca, Mg, S (secondary nutrients), and Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, B, Cl, Mo, Co and Ni (micronutrients). This list of known plant nutrients can now be expanded with the element iodine, the first new micro-nutrient to be added since Ni in 1987. In Italy, Professor Pierdomenico Perata, dr. Claudia Kiferle, their team at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, and scientists linked to the National Research Council, Naples, have now made public this important new discovery: Plants bind iodine in 82 different proteins with functions in important biological processes, such as the protein Rubisco for efficient photosynthesis in the leaves, or peroxidase enzymes defending the plant from abiotic and biotic stress and enzyme ATP-ase needed to supply energy for plant growth and
transport of nutrients. A deficiency of iodine in plants is predicted to cause yield losses, similar to those that may occur if plants suffer from deficiency of any other micronutrient. For optimal crop production iodine should be supplied to crops at the right dosage. What is iodine Iodine is an element in the periodic table with the symbol I and atomic number 53. Iodine is a halogen, an element classified in the same group as chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br). Halogens react easily with metals like sodium or potassium. Some examples are sodium chloride (table salt , NaCl) or potassium iodide (KI) which is added to produce iodised table salt for human health. Where does iodine occur naturally Iodine is present everywhere, but in only small quantities. The highest amount of iodine is found in the oceans, with an average concentration of 0.5 micromole iodine per litre of seawater. In contrast, rain, soil solution and irrigation water contain lower concentrations, less than 0.2 micromole per litre. Moreover, typically less than 10% of the total iodine in the soil is available for plant uptake. In humans and farm animals, disorders such as goitre and hypothyroidy are caused by a lack of iodine in plants, disturbing the thyroid function. In most countries in Europe, table salt is fortified with iodine to prevent the occurrence of iodine deficiency in humans, and animal feed is enriched with iodine as well. Severe iodine deficiency disorders have been decreasing significantly in Europe as well as in other parts of the world, thanks to this iodine supplementation. Nevertheless, mild to moderate iodine deficiency is still present in the European population, especially when the diet does not include animal-based proteins or iodized salt. Plants can take up and accumulate iodine It is known for a long time that plants can take up iodine with their roots and store iodine in their leaves and fruits. Benefits of a supply of small amounts of iodine for plant growth and resilience to stress were observed in many previous studies. The researchers in Italy have come to the same conclusion after reviewing all previously published evidence: Plants may accumulate iodine because it is of benefit for plant growth, nitrogen metabolism, resistance to salinity stress in the root solution, and in particular, for the production of anti-oxidants by the plant. Same as other micronutrients, providing the right dose (not too little, not too much) of the nutrient is very important.
It is also important to provide the right form of iodine. For example the iodine that is present in disinfectants (free iodine, I2 and iodide I-) may have harmful effects at a lower dose compared to other forms of iodine. Why iodine is needed by plants Despite the published benefits of iodine when applied in the right dose, the role of iodine as a nutrient for plants has not received the deserved attention of the scientific community. Until now. In a paper recently made public, a series of experiments is described. These experiments were carried out by the group of scientists in Pisa, Italy, and show how iodine is needed by plants.
Plants may accumulate iodine because it is of benefit for plant growth, nitrogen metabolism, resistance to salinity stress in the root solution, and in particular, for the production of anti-oxidants by the plant.
Arabidopsis thaliana was used as the model plant for these experiments. This plant is fast to grow in the laboratory (only six weeks from seed to seed) and all knowledge about the genes and metabolism are freely shared on-line by scientists all over the world. Normally, iodine is added to a popular growth medium for study of plant physiology in Arabidopsis. To be able to study of the effect of iodine deficiency in Arabidopsis, the water for preparation of the nutrient solution was demineralised by reverse osmosis, and ultrapure chemicals were used to make sure the nutrient solution did not contain measurable amounts of iodine. Without purposely applied iodine, plant growth and blooming was much slower compared to plants that were given 0.2 or 10 micromole of iodine per litre. Application of iodine at micromolar concentrations increased root and shoot growth, seed production and advanced flowering. To find out why plant growth was compromised in nutrient solutions without iodine, the genetic response of the plant to the presence or absence of iodine in the root solution was investigated. Iodine treatments specifically regulated the expression of several genes involved in photosynthesis, the salicylic acid (SA) stress response pathway, plant hormone response, Ca2+ signalling and plant defence to pathogen attack. The combination of these processes confirms previously published observations that iodine helps plants to prevent damage from biotic or abiotic stress. To check if the response in plant growth and gene-expression was unique for the addition of iodine to an iodine deficient nutrient solution, the same experiment was done using the halogen that best resembles iodine’s atomic structure: bromine. Contrary to iodine, neither the gene-expression nor growth of plants responded to the addition of bromine. This proves that the response of the plant to iodine is unique, and cannot be replaced by another element. Finally, iodine was found to be incorporated in plant proteins by providing plants with radio-labelled isotopes of iodine, and recovering these in the proteins. These proteins can be enzymes or building blocks
of structural complexes that are needed for all cell functions and for collaboration and communication with other cells in and between plant organs. “The iodinated proteins were discovered not only in Arabidopsis, but also in tomato, maize, wheat and lettuce.” Finding iodinated proteins in unrelated plant-families, shows that these iodine-containing proteins occur widely in the plant kingdom. A total of 82 iodinated proteins were identified for Arabidopsis thaliana using bioinformatic approaches on independent proteomic databases that contain all plant proteins studied world-wide. In the shoots, iodinated proteins are mainly associated with the chloroplast and are functionally involved in photosynthetic processes, whereas those in the roots are mostly various peroxidase enzymes important in stress-signalling, or related to peroxidase activity. Some of these proteins are essential for root growth. Also proteins were found iodinated with a crucial function in the nitrogen metabolism, phytohormone regulation and energy production in both root and leaf cells. These findings open a new window on emerging new aspects of plant physiology, especially in the field of proteomics and enzymology. Iodinated enzymes were found that have pivotal roles in evolutionary conserved basic functions, and this discovery will trigger academic interest in iodine as a factor of importance in crop production. Science taken to practice by SQM Following up on the scientific discovery of the importance of iodine as an essential plant nutrient, SQM - a global leader in specialty plant nutrition – has spared no efforts to develop a specialty fertilizer for fertigated crops that allows to apply iodine – as a micronutrient for plants - in a guaranteed safe form and science-based effective dose. SQM’s Ultrasol®ine K Plus, contains two essential plant macronutrients - potassium and nitrate nitrogen - and iodine from natural resources. Since potassium and nitrate nitrogen are applied in well-defined application rates, Ultrasol®ine K Plus ensures that a well-defined range of iodine is applied as well. This makes it easy for the grower to maintain an effective and safe concentration of iodine in the root-zone. Ultrasol®ine K Plus will therefore prevent iodine deficiency in the crop, without the risk of application of excessive iodine. Globally, SQM documented use by more than a hundred growers who had included the product in their nutrient solutions instead of the normal – iodine free - form of potassium nitrate. Grower’s experience confirms the benefit of iodine for improved root growth, above ground plant growth, photosynthesis, nitrogen conversion, tolerance to abiotic stress, flowering and fruit quality with less fruit rot and better shelf life. In 34 farms located in 9 countries, and including 10 different crops, the circumstances allowed to compare Ultrasol®ine K Plus to potassium nitrate without iodine in the same crop, of the same planting date and the same fertilizer programme. On average, 10% more marketable yield was recorded in the sectors using Ultrasol®ine K Plus. Crops included: tomato, lettuce, sweet pepper, cucumber, musk melon, sugarcane, pomegranate, papaya, banana and coffee. Ultrasol®ine K Plus has shown to ensure an easy application of iodine to improve crop performance leading to higher yield and quality for better revenues. It will be available on the European market as of mid-July 2022.
Prime source: Kiferle, C., Martinelli, M., Salzano, A.M., Gonzali, S., Beltrami, S., Salvadori, P.A., Hora, K., Holwerda, H.T., Scaloni, A., Perata, P. (2021) Evidences for a nutritional role of iodine in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 12:616868. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2021.616868
Supporting scientific literature: Borst Pauwels, G. W. F. H. (1961). Iodine as a micronutrient for plants. Plant and Soil, 14(4), 377–392. LINK Fuge, R. & Johnson, C. C. (1986). The geochemistry of iodine - a review. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 8(2), 31–54. LINK Gonzali, S., Kiferle, C. & Perata, P. (2017). Iodine biofortification of crops: agronomic biofortification, metabolic engineering and iodine bioavailability. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 44, 16–26. LINK Lehr, J. J., Wybenga J. M. & Rosanow M. (1958). Iodine as a Micronutrient for Tomatoes. Plant Physiology, 33(6), 421–427. LINK https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.33.6.421. Leyva, R., Sánchez-Rodríguez, E., Ríos, J. J., Rubio-Wilhelmi, M. M., Romero, L., Ruiz, J. M. & Blasco, B. (2011). Beneficial effects of exogenous iodine in lettuce plants subjected to salinity stress. Plant Science, 181(2), 195–202. LINK Lu, Y. & Yao, J. (2018). Chloroplasts at the crossroad of photosynthesis, pathogen infection and plant defense. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(12), 1–37. LINK Searls, H. H., & Sharp, P. (1929). ENDEMIC GOITER IN CALIFORNIA-ITS DISTRIBUTION. California and western medicine, 30(4), 231–233. Leung, A. M., Braverman, L. E., & Pearce, E. N. (2012). History of U.S. iodine fortification and supplementation. Nutrients, 4(11), 1740–1746. LINK For more information on iodine see HERE ●
According to the researchers, the recovered product has the potential to provide a sustainable, green fertilizer alternative in the food sector.
“We aim to recover nutrients from wastewater, urine and other waste streams for reuse in agriculture and other industries, utilizing the biomineralization capability of specific bacteria for a more sustainable future and enabling the delivery of the circular economy,” stated researchers.
While nutrients can be recovered from wastewater using chemicals; this puts stress on other resources and itself demands more energy. Bio-struvite is rich in phosphorus, ammonia, magnesium and potassium, and is produced by bacteria. It is a viable organic, slow-release fertilizer alternative to modern chemical fertilizers, slurry and compost, noted the researchers.
The requirements of this process are very low when compared to the chemical recovery of nutrients, thanks in part to the robustness of these bacteria and, therefore, reducing the energy demands within the water industry.
Since the onset of the research, begun in October 2019, selected bacteria have been shown to grow in municipal wastewater and remove up to 91 percent phosphate, leading to treated effluents with ≤1 mg/L in wastewater whilst concentrating the nutrients as salts that can be easily recovered by filtration. The biomineral formation bacteria have two major communalities: urease production and ability to grow at high pHs (>7-10).
Biomineral production was observed to take place through biologically-induced mineralization and biologically-controlled mineralization mechanisms, noted the research. The studied bacteria can also grow in fresh urine, without the addition of external nutrients or sterilization of the urine.
“This indicates that urine is a compatible growth stream and can allow the enrichment of target bacteria in mixed cultures,” stated the researchers. “Initial experiments show a yield of up to 300 mg bio-struvite can be recovered per litre of fresh urine. The struvite collected showed a high purity, with additional potassium and calcium, making it a high-quality fertilizer for agricultural and domestic use.”
Biochar from human waste Meanwhile, a city in Australia recently opened a facility that will “blast” human waste and convert it into fertilizer.
The $28 million biosolids gasification facility was developed by Logan City Council’s water business Logan Water. The facility, the first of its kind in Australia, blasts sewage with extremely high heat to turn it into biochar, which can be used as a fertilizer in the agriculture industry.
The gasification process destroys chemicals in biosolids such as persistent organic pollutants and micro- and nano-plastics.
The complex construction included installing two 34-tonne, 18-metre long industrial-strength dryers that were built in Germany by Dutch company ELIQUO. The gasification process involves biosolids (sewage sludge) being dewatered, dried and treated at high temperatures. Heat created from the process is then captured and used in the drying phase, creating the odourless charcoal-like biochar.
The town council is currently in advanced negotiations with a major agriculture company to market the biochar.
Focused on urine In France, researchers are using human urine as a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers.
To grow, "plants need nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium," said say researcher Fabien Esculier, engineer and coordinator of the OCAPI research program. “When we eat, we ingest these nutrients before "excrete them, mostly through urine."
The OCAPI research and action program was launched in 2014 in France. It aims at studying the contemporary mutations of nutrient flows, and more specifically, the management of human nutrient excretion.
They said since urine is not normally a major carrier of disease, it does not require heavy processing for use in agriculture, but the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends letting it rest. It is also possible to pasteurize it.
Once collected, the urine must be transported to the fields. But the procedure is still expensive. Various techniques make it possible to reduce its volume and to concentrate, or even dehydrate it.
Similar research is underway in the U.S. "If you save all the urine that you produce in a day, there's enough fertilizer in there to grow all the wheat that you need to make a loaf of bread," said Abraham Noe-Hays, research director at Rich Earth Institute. "It's a huge amount of nutrients, and it could grow a significant portion of our dietary needs just from the nutrients in our urine."
Abraham Noe-Hays, research director at Rich Earth Institute
The Rich Earth Institute, based in Vermont, runs the U.S.’s first community-scale urine recycling program and conducts research on the safety and efficacy of urine as a replacement for chemical fertilizers. They say that besides nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, urine also contains a wide range of micronutrients important for plant growth that are not present in most commercially available fertilizers.
The University of Michigan (U.S.) is exploring the technology, systems requirements and social attitudes associated with urine-derived fertilizers. Over the last several years, the group has studied the removal of bacteria, viruses and pharmaceuticals in urine to improve the safety of urine-derived fertilizers.
Working with Rich Earth Institute, the research is led by Nancy Love, U-M professor of civil and environmental engineering. and Krista Wigginton, U-M associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Urine contains a wide range of micronutrients. Source: Rich Earth Institute
On the technology side, the researchers have been testing advanced urine-treatment methods such as charcoal filtration; freeze-thaw concentration; pasteurization; and bio-nitrification, which uses bacteria to eliminate odours and turn the ammonia in urine into stable nitrate. The team is also comparing the public health and environmental risks of urine-derived fertilizers, synthetic fertilizers and biosolids.
“We believe our work will take urine-derived fertilizer to a point where it’s safer than synthetic fertilizers and biosolids,” said Love.
For urine-derived fertilizer to become mainstream, Noe-Hays added "it has to be with fixtures that people are familiar with and comfortable using. And we have to have a commercially available product for processing it and turning it into a usable fertilizer."
Rich Earth Institute's spinoff company, Rich Earth Tools, is working on a system that can be used in buildings to capture urine for fertilizer.
It may take several years for urine-derived fertilizers to be used at a large scale, as researchers develop technologies, people's attitudes change and a regulatory pathway for urine recycling is established, Love said. "It'll be longer term than short term," Love noted, "but we have to be doing the work now to get us there." ●
Legumes (which includes soybeans) constitute the predominant market segment for biofertilizers, representing 46 percent of the market in 2021.
For decades, not to say a century, this has been a market with similar players in terms of crops and microbial species used, but in the last decades changes have been accelerating at an increasing pace.
What we see today in the market is a mixture of circumstances that are linked to historical usage, the strength of the present driving trends and the disrupting elements appearing in the last three years.
Past Legumes were the only segment on biofertilizers during past decades, and they kept their leadership position into the microbial biostimulant space even with the appearance of mycorrhizae first, and other microbials (mainly Bacillus based) later.
Legumes (which includes soybeans) constitute the predominant market segment, representing 46 percent of the market in 2021. Nitrogen-fixers have been used historically in this segment, so that growth therein has begun to show signs of maturity. Within legumes, the main crop driver has been soybeans (34 percent of the market in 2021), which continues to be the main market segment.
Present Soybean has experienced a tremendous growth on planted surface during the last two and
a half decades. Brazil is the familiar example, but other countries have increased the planted area. In parallel, there has been an increasing growth on the level of adoption (percent of surface treated with microbial biostimulants). These two factors are responsible of soybean inoculants being the main growth driver for this market in the last two and a half decades. Some symptoms of maturity seem to appear in some countries, but others such as Brazil and Russia offer tremendous possibilities.
Crop evolution explains the microbial specie species segmentation as well. Among microbial types, rhizobia products are the most used (38 percent of the market in 2021), with Bradyrhizobium spp. dominating as the main species (25 percent of the market in 2021). Bacillus spp., used in a multitude of crops, is the most used of the balance of microbial species, accounting for 20 percent of the global market in 2021.
Future Looking to the future through the lens of current trends and drivers, we predict that we are entering a process of dramatic change which will establish the biofertilizer segment as one of the most innovative, rapidly growing segments of global agriculture. And this is because the disrupting appearance of nitrogen-fixers for non-leguminous crops.
This segment began its commercial development in the last decade, initially in Latin America with Azospirillum, but it has been North America that has been the game changer for future growth. New companies and technologies within the segment of nitrogen-fixers for non-leguminous crops have appeared in North America. Disruptive products are based predominantly on the bacterium Klebsiella variicola, followed by others such as Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, and the increasing diffusion of methylotrophs (Methylobacterium spp.) for foliar or soil application.
Trends DunhamTrimmer anticipates this trend will radiate to other extensive non-leguminous crops (wheat, canola, other cereals and oilseeds) and to other regions beyond North America. DunhamTrimmer also expects the competitive environment in this biofertilizers segment to expand both in terms of the number of players and of the different microbial technologies being used.
The rate of entry for this new segment of biofertilizers into new crops and regions will be determined by the regulatory environment, and the validation that this technology receives from local organizations. DunhamTrimmer expects this entry to start in some key markets (Brazil, Argentina) between 2022-24. European and Asian markets will take longer.
Soybean may claim for a leading role again, as short-term reaction caused by increasing costs on fertilizers that caused many farmers to rethink whether they should substitute some of its corn planting plans with soybean.
More info on DunhamTrimmer's latest report here. ●
The use of Polyaspartic Acid (PAA) in Fertilizer Products – delivered by Dr. Lu Yin-Bandur, head of R&D, DeltaChem GmbH. Polyaspartic acid (PAA) is a biodegradable and water-soluble polymer of the small amino acid Aspartate (C4H6NO4–) (see Figure 1). Naturally, the COO– part of the Asp molecule is negatively charged, hence exerting hydrophilic activity, while the NH2 part of the molecule exerts hydrophobic activity. The aggregation of many negatively charged sites across the PAA polymer molecule turns it into a potent chelating ligand that can strongly bind agronomically important cations, such as Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Mn2+ and Co2+. Utilizing this important advantage, the PAA products protect Fe2+ and Mg2+ solutions from precipitating, even under very high pH conditions, similarly or better than EDTA chelates. Moreover, integrating K-PAA in fertigation solutions enables co-existence of sulphate, phosphate and Ca ions in the fertigation solution, preventing the otherwise inevitable Ca precipitation. Additionally, it has been found in tomato and herbal plants that calcium and potassium salts of PAA stimulate crop growth, and enhance their salinity- and drought-stress tolerance. It also promotes root development that, in turn,
encourages nutrient uptake, especially phosphorus and micronutrients. So, in this context, PAA has a biostimulation effect too. A combined application of a K-PAA product, plus the nitrification inhibitor DMPP, and a normal rate of an NPK fertilizer, markedly outperformed DMPP+ normal NPK, in terms of yield biomass (+18.6 percent), nutrient contents and leaf colour in parsley (see Figure 2). It suggests that K-PAA enhances the stability and efficacy of the interplay between the nitrification inhibitor and its substrate.
A recovered sustainable slow-release fertilizer – delivered by Dr. Yariv Cohen, Head of R&D at EasyMining. In contrast to nitrogen, phosphorus (P) fertilizers stem from non-renewable geological P deposits, which become increasingly limited and declining resource. Right now, Europe's exclusive phosphate mine (in Finland) supplies only 10 percent of Europe's requirement. This fact, as well as the continuous production of municipal sewage sludge and slaughterhouse wastes, which contain ~0.8 percent of P, have, naturally, put these materials in the focus of P recovery efforts, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Sludge incineration has been adopted as a safe and cost-effective way for eliminating the possible biological hazard, and producing nine percent P ash byproduct, while recycling this sludge. EasyMining is a spin-off subsidiary of the Swedish Ragn-Sells giant (>2700 workers). It has developed a patented process for the recovery of clean phosphate from sewage sludge ash, registered under the brand Ash2Phos. This process is based on wet chemical treatment of the ash. Phosphorus is initially recovered in the form of clean precipitated calcium phosphate (PCP), which fulfills all the requirements set for the EU Fertilising Product Regulation (FPR, Regulation (EU) 2019/1009). This PCP contains about 17 percent P (=38.7%P2O5) (see Table 1). While being barely soluble in water, it is fully soluble in citric acid, and about 80 percent soluble in neutral ammonium citrate, which implies that similarly to di-calcium phosphate (DCP), it is a plant-available slow-release P source, at neutral, to moderately acidic soils. Plants can use this P source thanks to the organic acids they continuously excrete to their rhizosphere, especially under ammoniacal N nutrition. Indeed, ryegrass experiments showed that PCP is an efficient slow-release fertilizer in acidic soils, exhibiting its efficacy for at least 140 growth days. Furthermore, a CO2 emissions analysis, carried out by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, concluded that the Ash2Phos process, consuming 30,000 MT/A (metric ton per annum) of ash, saves 20,500 MT/A of CO2 emissions, compared to producing similar quality product from rock phosphate. It is determined, therefore, that this process is both environmentally sustainable, and massively contributes to phosphorus recycling. First batches of PCP were produced at a pilot plant, which will produce some 15,000 metric tons/year in 2024, and the first industrial plant is planned to come onstream in 2023. In Germany, expectations are for one million metric tons/year of such incineration ash feedstock that would supply some 60 percent of the domestic P demand. ●
Table 1. Typical analysis of commercial PCP
Over the next 10 years, the Dutch government is investing 42 million euros in CROP-XR, a new, virtual institute aimed at developing agricultural crops that are more resistant to climate change and less dependent on plant protection products.
CROP-XR founders are four knowledge institutions (Utrecht University, Wageningen University and Research, the University of Amsterdam, and the Delft University of Technology) and Plantum, the umbrella organization of approximately 250 producers of plant propagation materials based in the Netherlands. Taken together, these producers lead the global export market for starting materials such as vegetable seeds, seed potatoes and flower bulbs.
In addition, dozens of public and private players, including “green” universities of applied sciences and breeding companies that will invest in the development – and ultimately the production – of marketable resilient crops, will participate in activities of CROP-XR.
CROP-XR players will develop a revolutionary method to make crops more resilient more quickly. By integrating modern plant biology with artificial intelligence (AI) and functional modelling, they will learn to understand and predict how plants can better withstand stress conditions thanks to a complex interplay of genetic factors. This knowledge will then be used to develop stronger, more resilient varieties of several model crops, that can be grown sustainably.
"We are very pleased that the Dutch government has recognized that the breeding of resilient crops is both an opportunity for the national economy and important for sustainable agriculture and food security worldwide," said Guido van den Ackerveken, a professor of translational plant and microbiology at Utrecht University and leader of the consortium during its start-up phase.
CROP-XR will also promote the widespread application of its new method in many different crops. The faster breeding companies will bring seeds, bulbs, tubers and other starting materials for resilient crops onto the world market, the sooner and the more farmers will be able to benefit.
To stimulate application, CROP-XR will manage and boost an efficient Dutch “innovation ecosystem” in which education and government also play a role. The institute will invest in nationally shared data infrastructure and will help Dutch educational institutions to train professionals of the future.
CROP-XR will also focus on cooperation and dialogue with other parties that have an interest in resilient crops, such as farmers and consumers, and environmental and development organizations at home and abroad. ●
A new $19 million project by Protein Industries Canada and a consortium of companies will help Canadian farmers further improve their substantiality and reduce carbon emissions through the commercialization of a new micronutrient fertilizer.
Soileos is a sustainable, non-polluting, climate-positive micronutrient fertilizer created from the upcycling of pea, lentil, and oat hulls – co-products from food processing. The use of Soileos increases crop yields and improves the health of soil, while also increasing revenues to both farmers and food processors.
AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., Lucent BioSciences, NuWave Research, IN10T and Aberhart Ag Solutions are collaborating to scale and distribute this new product. The project includes the installation of a new manufacturing process for the production of Soileos in Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada, that, when completed, will produce up to approximately 6,500 tons per year of micronutrient fertilizer and create 25 jobs.
This new 50-50 joint venture between AGT Foods and Lucent, which operates as AGT Soileos, will also lead to improved efficiency of the fertilizer, particularly a shortening of the reaction time required in manufacturing to bind the plant-based fibres to the micronutrients from hours to minutes, reducing energy and water usage, and an expansion of its availability across Western Canada.
Initial field trials of Soileos on broad-acre crops such as durum, lentils and peas demonstrated how Soileos transports zinc, manganese and iron to plants – leading to improved protein content, yields and soil health, while increasing returns for farmers, minimizing environmental impacts and bringing value to low-value byproducts.
NuWave Research’s technology will help reduce the reaction time in making Soileos. The traditional process required a five-hour hold for the reaction; the application of the new technology will reduce the reaction time to minutes. This will allow faster production of more Soileos at much lower energy usage.
The inclusion of IN10T and Aberhart Ag Solutions will support the distribution and acceptance of Soileos amongst western Canadian farmers, providing distribution and sales support.
Over the past three years, Protein Industries Canada and industry partners have invested more than CDN$480 million into growing Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient sector. Protein Industries Canada’s goal is to grow Canada’s plant-based food sector to $25 billion a year by 2035, supported by 17,000 jobs. ●
