A milestone was reached last year when the first batch of sulphate of potash (SOP) was produced in the commissioning of one of Australia’s many SOP projects, based on evaporating the salt from brine-rich lakes. The project to reach this milestone was Kalium Lakes’ project at Beyondie, which like many of the projects is in the western part of the country.
However, the front-runner Kalium Lakes has pushed back its start-up date saying that it requires further finance. In an update from 1 March 2022, the company provided a revised start-up schedule and said that it expects that it will have “a requirement for further external funding by the third quarter of 2022 and has now commenced discussions with its financiers to address this requirement.”
In the same statement, Kalium Lakes said it expects to be operating at an approximate 80,000 tonnes/year (t/y) SOP production run-rate by the first quarter of 2023, with the targeted 120,000 t/y run
A dry salt lake in western Australia
rate established by the third quarter of 2024. The commissioning process began in October 2021, while in a company presentation from August 2021, Kalium Lakes said that it was targeting the nameplate capacity of 90,000 t/y for March 2022, and an expansion to 120,000 t/y by the fourth quarter of 2022.
Into administration The second-placed runner S04, formerly known as Salt Lake Potash, went into administration in October 2021. KPMG Restructuring was appointed as administrators. CEO Tony Swiericzuk had resigned in August 2021, and two directors – Peter Thomas and Rebecca Morgan – resigned in October 2021.
SO4 is running the Lake Way project (see Table 1). In July 2021, the company said that a practical completion certificate from GR Engineering Services had been received, meaning the plant had been handed to the SO4 operations team. The company also said plant commissioning was expected to continue with first SOP product expected in the weeks ahead. The 245,000 t/y Lake Way project is set to produce two products with a powder form of SOP targeted for fertigation applications, as well as a granular SOP product. SO4 appointed new CEO Isak Buitendag in September 2021.
Following runners Behind Kalium Lakes and SO4 are a number of projects in various stages. One of them, Australian Potash (APC), which runs the borefield Lake Wells project, issued an update on 2 March 2022. In the release, the company said 20 bores of the 79 bores required in steady state operations had been drilled.
APC managing director and CEO, Matt Shackleton, said in the 2 March update: “We chose strategically in 2015 to proceed with a 100 percent borefield development as we had not seen, and still have not seen, any evidence that the alternative trench mining system works for SOP.
“We have seen mistakes made in the initial control of the pre-concentration and harvest ponds that have resulted in salts precipitating that cannot be efficiently processed,” he added. In previous releases, APC stated that 100 percent of the projected output of 150,000 t/y was now committed under off-take agreements.
Australia currently imports all of its sulphate of potash requirements
But will all the runners reach commercial production?
“There are so many potential Australian SOP producers that some are unlikely to reach commercial output. One or two projects combined would satisfy Australia’s domestic demand and turn the country into a net exporter,” said Ewan Thomson, potash editor, Argus Media Ltd.
Capacity in context Table 1 shows the potential capacity if the projects shown reached commercial production. The word “potential” needs to be stressed. Some of these projects have an exploration licence but they have some way to go before any actual production. As often happens, there will be acquisitions of these projects, which does not always mean that development will be accelerated.
Table 1: Selection of Australian SOP projects. With those caveats in place, the potential volume of 1.7 million tonnes needs to be given some context.
With those caveats in place, the potential volume of 1.7 million tonnes needs to be given some context.
Firstly, Australia’s SOP annual consumption is typically under 100,000 t, all of which is imported. If only a fraction of the projects were to come onstream, it can be seen that Australia’s consumption would be satisfied, even allowing for growth, and so much of the balance of the production would be available for export.
The justification for many, if not all, of these projects has been the growth in regional markets, such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Another key factor is the relatively low-cost extraction method. The export nature of these projects is also shown by the off-take agreements announced by various projects. This removes the pressure from the operators of the projects to market the tonnes themselves.
Trade deals Moving to global SOP figures: the market is reported at around 7-8 million t, with around half of that being China’s consumption, and global trade at around two million t.
It can be seen from Table 1 that the potential figure of 1.7 million t, even allowing for Australian consumption, would represent a significant increase to the current global SOP trade. To absorb even half of the 1.7 million t on the international market would require high growth rates in consumption elsewhere. And those markets where consumption is increasing might not be optimum from a shipping and freight perspective.
There are pockets of SOP production around the globe – Germany and Belgium in Europe for example, in Jordan and in Chile. The U.S. has a capacity of around 500,000 t. Arguably, increases in demand globally could be satisfied from established players.
Looking forward Having been described as a race, it appears the scramble for SOP production in Australia has stumbled out of the blocks. But to corrupt a phrase from Shakespeare – the course of mining projects never did run smooth. It seems some production should come onstream by end of 2022, with a gentle ramp-up through 2023.
There are so many potential Australian SOP producers that some are unlikely to reach commercial output.
Among the later runners, the race is probably set for a restart. There is domestic consumption to be satisfied, and regional markets with growing populations and a strong demand for fruit and vegetables.
There could also be lower exports from China for Australian producers to compete with. “With a significant reduction in Chinese SOP exports this year, coupled with rising SOP prices to multi-year highs, those that can reach commercial production quickest may enjoy strong early returns, both in and outside of Australia. And long-term demand could make other potential projects viable in the future,” added Argus Media’s Thomson.
The longer-term demand projection could be influenced by current events in Ukraine. If there is a long-term supply disruption for muriate of potash (MOP) from Belarus and Russia, then SOP might start to fill the shortfall in certain markets where substitution is possible, and even with SOP’s premium price to MOP. The SOP projects in Australia could draft behind such a scenario.
Potassium sulphate, or sulphate of potash, commonly known as SOP, is the second major form of potash. It consists of 51 percent K2O and 17.5 percent S. For more information on production routes for SOP, and how solubility affects the grade, see our New AG International e-book Water-Soluble Fertilizers – where quality matters, HERE.
So, from a faltering start, this might be one race that is more a marathon than a sprint. ●
By Leonardo Gottems
One of the greatest threats to modern agriculture is the competition with weeds that reduce yield and quality of crops. Worldwide, billions of dollars are spent annually on herbicides to control weeds, but the intensive use of the same agrochemical molecules is selecting for resistant weeds – which are spreading faster than ever before.
The problem is partly due to the repeated use of a limited number of herbicides, and even current low-dose pesticides, which on one hand are safer for the environment and people, but on the other hand can damage or even kill crops. It is in this context that the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) gene editing technology is gaining strength in the world to make agricultural seeds resistant to these herbicides.
Through genetic editing, it is possible to induce small precise changes in plants without adding DNA from other species to the genome of these crops, generating increasingly safer and more efficient ways of managing weeds. And an important step towards advancing the adoption of the CRISPR technique is that it has not been considered a GMO (genetically modified organism) by regulatory bodies in the United States, Brazil, United Kingdom and Argentina, among other countries of relevance in world agriculture – which increases the speed of approval and dissemination of this type of solution.
The potential of genome editing with CRISPR technology is enormous. Photo: BioHeuris
The Argentine biotechnology start-up BioHeuris was a pioneer in receiving the approval of the Brazilian CTNBio (National Technical Commission on Biosafety), as had already occurred in the U.S. and in its own country. The company's CEO, Lucas Lieber, says a decisive element for this is the implementation of strategies in the innovation phases, and for the final validation of edited plants that guarantee the absence of genes or exogenous DNA in the seeds of the improved crops.
“We simply generate small, precise and targeted changes in the plant genome. For example, in soybeans we are optimizing one of the approximately 56,000 genes that this species has, and specifically in that gene we are looking to modify one of the 1,500 DNA letters that code for the protein we want to improve,” he notes.
Two platforms were developed to optimize the genome of cultures. The first was Heurik, which is based on directed evolution and synthetic biology, techniques that improve enzymes and proteins. The other platform is Swap, where genome editing techniques are applied to obtain plants with the best variants discovered in the previous phase. “We are currently applying this technology to develop more sustainable and efficient weed management systems, but there are many other practical applications,” says Lieber. “To optimize a crop, we couple our platforms so that they both work with the same gene of the variety we want to improve. In other words, we limit ourselves not only to working within the species, but we can even do so at the variety or line level.
“This approach is very different from finding an agronomically valuable gene in a bacterium and then introducing it into a plant. The changes we generate can occur in nature over hundreds or thousands of years of natural evolution. We cannot wait that long to solve the problems of the present; we need to innovate faster.”
CTNBio's decision was highly celebrated because it confirms that plants improved with genetic editing are considered as safe as those obtained with conventional breeding and, therefore, will be subject to the same regulations.
Lucas Lieber, BioHeuris CEO, says the company is currently applying CRISPR technology to develop more sustainable and efficient weed management systems.
Photo: BioHeuris
“If they were considered GMOs, they would be subject to other legislation that would require obtaining special licenses before carrying out any testing or seed movement, in addition to greater biosecurity conditions,” notes Lieber. “These regulations that apply to GMOs delay development times and substantially increase costs. We estimate that, with this structure, we can cut that time in half and reduce costs about 100 times compared to a transgenic crop.”
According to BioHeuris, there are already several projects in the development pipeline in crops such as soybeans, sorghum, cotton, rice and alfalfa. To take this technology to producers in several countries, agreements have already been initiated with seed companies that will license the technologies. Lieber says the next move is to expand these agreements to other countries.
“Some projects are more advanced than others,” he says. “During 2022, we will be carrying out tests in greenhouse conditions and later in the field. We expect our first optimized crops to be planted in producer fields in 2026.”
For the future, BioHeuris is busy on new developments. “We are currently focused on low-use herbicide resistance technologies, but we continue to develop other increasingly safer ways to manage weeds. With a few tweaks we were able to calibrate our platforms to optimize crops that are better able to compete with weeds. We could make crops germinate faster, be more vigorous and close the furrow in less time,” says Lieber.
“Another strategy to explore is that of certain plants that release allelopathic substances to influence and retard the growth of neighbouring weeds. If we can better understand this process, we can implement it in the fields.”
The potential of genome editing with CRISPR technology is enormous, and there is no exaggeration in classifying it as a revolutionary tool. In addition to generating intentional changes in a gene, its expression level can be modulated, turning it on or off at specific times or tissues. Using this technique, other groups have already shown that it is possible to obtain crops that are resistant to certain diseases and insects. Advances like these will be
We need to innovate faster
commercially available within a very short time. Combining these solutions with other tactics in an integrated management framework will be critical to improving the sustainability of future crop protection systems.
Sugarcane breeding using CRISPR Scientists from two different research centres recently developed genetically edited sugarcane varieties. Cana Flex I and Cana Flex II were created by Embrapa Agroenergia (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) using the CRISPR technique, also being considered non-transgenic (DNA-free), according to resolution (RN nº 16) of the CTNBio. Meanwhile, University of Florida researchers at the Department of Energy’s Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) demonstrated precision breeding of sugarcane by using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing.
Researchers at Embrapa say the Cana Flex I and II varieties show, respectively, greater cell wall digestibility and higher sucrose concentration in plant tissues. They respond to one of the biggest challenges in the sector: increasing the access of enzymes to sugars trapped in cells, which facilitates the manufacture of ethanol (first and second generation) and the extraction of other bioproducts. “Once we identified this characteristic of sugar accumulation in the model plant, we transferred this knowledge to the sugarcane crop, which is the target of our research. An increase of around 15 percent in sucrose was observed in the sugarcane stalk, as well as an increase in other sugars such as glucose and fructose, also present in the plant, both in the juice and in the
Hugo Molinari with Embrapa says genomic editing performed with techniques such as CRISPR allows for a more precise, faster manipulation of DNA and economic when compared to transgenics. Photo: Hugo Molinari
fresh plant tissue,” explains Embrapa researcher Hugo Molinari.
The team also observed increases of the order of 200 percent of sugar in the cane leaves. “We also carried out tests to see if the gene had an effect on improving saccharification, which is the conversion of cellulose into industrial sugar, and we observed an increase of around 12 percent,” adds Molinari.
As advantages of Cana Flex II, Molinari cites the increase in efficiency in the production of bioethanol, the discovery of a variety more suitable for industrial processing, obtaining a bagasse with greater digestibility for use in animal feed and the addition of value to the production chain of sugarcane as a whole.
“In 2020-21, the estimated total production of sugar in the world was 188 million tons, with Brazil responsible for 39 million tons, equivalent to 21 percent of world production,” says Molinari. Another point highlighted by the researcher is the contribution of sugarcane cultivation to a cleaner energy matrix. “Today we know that more than 45 percent of the Brazilian energy matrix is renewable and that sugarcane contributes a share of more than 30 percent to these renewable sources,” he says.
Over at CABBI, CRISPR/Cas9 allowed scientists to introduce precision changes in almost any gene and, depending on the selected approach, to turn the gene off or replace it with a superior version. The latter is technically more challenging and has rarely been reported for crops so far, they note.
In the first of two reports on the CABBI study, researchers demonstrated the ability to turn off variable numbers of copies of the magnesium chelatase gene, a key enzyme for chlorophyll biosynthesis in sugarcane, producing rapidly identifiable plants with light green to yellow leaves. Light green plants did not show growth reduction and may require less nitrogen fertilizer to produce the same amount of biomass. That study, published in Frontiers in Genome Editing, was led by CABBI researchers Fredy Altpeter, professor of agronomy at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), and Ayman Eid, a postdoctoral research associate in Altpeter’s lab. The second study, also published in Frontiers in Genome Editing, achieved efficient and reproducible gene targeting in sugarcane, demonstrating the precise substitution of multiple copies of the target gene with a superior version, conferring herbicide resistance. Scientists co-introduced a repair template together with the gene-editing tool to direct the plant’s own DNA repair process so that one or two of the thousands of building blocks of the gene, called nucleotides, were precisely replaced in the targeted location. The result was that the gene product was still fully functional and could no longer be inhibited by the herbicide. That study was led by Altpeter and former CABBI postdoc Mehmet Tufan Oz.
Florida professor Fredy Altpeter says CRISPR is a very effective tool to modify sugarcane into a crop with higher productivity or improved sustainability. Photo: CABBI
“Now we have very effective tools to modify sugarcane into a crop with higher productivity or improved sustainability,” Altpeter says. “It’s important since sugarcane is the ideal crop to fuel the emerging bioeconomy.”
According to Molinari with Embrapa, although transgenics continues to be an important strategy for solving numerous problems in agriculture and adding value to species, genomic editing performed with techniques such as CRISPR allows for a more precise, faster manipulation of DNA and economic when compared to transgenics.
“CRISPR technology has allowed for a democratization of the use of biotechnology in agriculture, not only from the point of view of more companies and institutions participating in the development of products that reach the market, but also allowing more species of interest to be benefited,” he says, adding the estimated cost for the development of a transgenic plant is around USD$136 million with between 30 percent and 60 percent of this amount destined to the deregulation stages.
Bruno Laviola, deputy head of research and development at Embrapa Agroenergia, says the development of new sugarcane cultivars using the CRISPR technique is an action at the frontier of knowledge. “These cultivars are just the beginning and pave the way for the development and delivery of other cultivars to the productive sector with characteristics that will directly impact the productivity of the sugarcane and the reduction of production costs,” he says. ●
These cultivars are just the beginning
In the push for sustainably produced food, agricultural industries are demanding alternative nutritional sources to synthetic fertilizers. So, a project that’s looking at turning sea urchin waste into agricultural fertilizer is creating some excitement within the industry.
The long-spined sea urchin is an ocean pest that is decimating reefs along Tasmania's east coast. It has become a huge threat to the state's multi-million-dollar abalone and rock lobster industries after munching its way through habitat. Urchin waste is comprised of two major parts: gut waste, a nitrogenous rich liquid which can be converted in a stable drench or spray, and shell waste, a calcium and boron rich solid which can be dried and powdered for use as a soil ameliorant.
According to Tasmanian agricultural scientist Harriet Walker, who is working on the project, the nutrient properties of the urchin waste are ideal for the home garden and broadscale agriculture.
"It is rich in a lot of important plant micronutrients, such as boron and zinc, and is relatively high in nitrogen, which tends to be the most limiting nutrient when it comes to plant growth," she notes. "It's full of calcium, and for that reason we see its potential as an agricultural liming product."
Researchers from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture are being funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation to test urchin fertilizer on plant growth. The scientists are testing it on sunflowers and hope to take the trials to broadscale agriculture.
"As we're applying more fertilizer, we're seeing increased plant growth and we're also seeing the sunflowers themselves are producing the flower heads faster than our control fertilizer," says Walker. "We are really excited about the potential of this product and hope it will provide a great example of how, by thinking slightly outside of the box, we can reduce waste and promote a circular economy."
Dr. John Keane, a research fellow at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, is among the team of researchers testing the fertilizer. He says the whole project has nearly gone full circle.
"The idea for this project really stemmed from going and working with the commercial industry, the processors and seeing tonnes and tonnes of waste being dumped at their expense and I thought there has to be a better solution here," says Keane. ●
Harriet Walker and Dr. John Keane say the nutrient properties of the urchin waste are ideal for the home garden and broadscale agriculture. Photo: IMAS
Koch Agronomic Services speaks with Luke Hutson, Editor-in-Chief, New AG International
Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) has been expanding its offering in recent years, particularly in the key growth region of Latin America. For many years, Koch has been associated with nitrogen stabilizers but the company’s activities are now extending deep into other enhanced efficiency fertilizers, such as coating fertilizer granules with micronutrients. The company also has invested in a research partnership in Brazil. Luke Hutson spoke with the Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa (LAMSA) team to find out how Koch is playing a much larger role in enhanced efficiency fertilizers.
It is a little over a decade since Koch acquired the urease inhibitor AGROTAIN® in late 2011. During that time, Koch has cemented a leading position in stabilized nitrogen, Koch has now moved into micronutrients with a coating technology for fertilizer granules through its WOLF TRAXTM portfolio – can you tell us more about this development? The acquisition of micronutrient and seed treatment products in May 2021 made Koch an even more robust crop nutrition solutions provider across the world, with global intellectual property rights to ROCKET SEEDS™ seed treatments, HYDRO BULLET™ liquid foliar fertilizers and the WOLF TRAX™ micronutrients product lines. “The purchase of Compass Minerals’ North American micronutrient assets furthers Koch’s commitment to help farmers around the world improve nutrient efficiency, utilization and uptake,” commented Mickey Blizzard, Vice President of International Sales. The efforts align with Koch’s vision of growing from a leader in nitrogen efficiency to a leader as a nutrient efficiency solutions provider that offers products designed to allow more fertilizers to be more efficient than they are today. We have integrated the products to our portfolio and we are committed with our customers to continually meet their crop nutrition needs.
While the micronutrient business is new to Koch, we have extensive expertise in crop nutrition products. From production, packaging, and the handling of these products, as well as our experience customizing formulations, we are well suited to customize this line of products to meet our customers’ needs. WOLF TRAX micronutrients solutions can help maximize micronutrient nutrition efficiency. WOLF TRAX is a patented, powdered micronutrient coating, also known as dry dispersible powder (DDP®). WOLF TRAX DDP nutrients improve the in-field distribution of micronutrients in dry fertilizer blends compared to granular micronutrients. They are specially formulated to simplify nutrient management, boost crop performance, and maximize farmers' fertilizer investment. Using patented EvenCoat® Technology, WOLF TRAX uniformly coats every fertilizer granule and ensures the adhesion of micronutrients to the entire surface. This allows the micronutrients to be distributed evenly within the fertilizer blend to result in a uniform distribution of nutrients across the field and places micronutrients in closer proximity to growing roots so crops can consistently access the right rate throughout the crop season. WOLF TRAX DDP products can be used on any crop were farmers normally use granular micronutrients.
The purchase of Compass Minerals’ North American micronutrient assets furthers Koch’s commitment to help farmers around the world improve nutrient efficiency, utilization and uptake
There is a WOLF TRAX DDP solution for the following nutrients: • Zinc, boron, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and calcium. Also offered are mixed products that provide custom blends of nutrients when crops need it most: • CROPMIX™ DDP – a blend of boron, iron, zinc, copper and manganese.
• 3-TRAX™ DDP – a blend of zinc, manganese and boron. • NU-TRAX P+® DDP – a blend of zinc, phosphate, manganese and nitrogen.
Koch is skilled at customizing its products and developing its own proprietary technology – for example, ANVOL® is a product that Koch launched in 2019 with an active ingredient Duromide. I saw that Koch has conducted studies in Brazil using Duromide – perhaps you can elaborate on this and any key results that demonstrate the advantage of Duromide. Koch is known as an industry leader in nitrogen stabilization. Today, our portfolio includes ANVOL® nitrogen stabilizer and ARMOURTM nitrogen stabilizer. Both stabilizer products contain proprietary active ingredients developed by Koch.
ANVOL nitrogen stabilizer features the propriety active ingredient Duromide and NBPT. Duromide is the newest Koch developed and patented urease inhibitor technology, offering an extended window of protection against volatilization. When combined with NBPT, Duromide is designed to extend nitrogen protection longer and is designed to withstand a wider range of soil environments. In a peer-reviewed article published in the Brazilian Journal of Soil Science, ANVOL, Duromide plus NBPT, reduced urea nitrogen loss by ammonia volatilization by up to 33% compared to the use of only NBPT. Duromide is robust in that it is more resistant to degradation triggers such as soil pH levels and temperature, which can break down other urease inhibitors. ANVOL offers a high active ingredient concentration, allowing for a low application rate. It is formulated for both urea and UAN. “The superior performance of Duromide in ANVOL in reducing nitrogen volatilization losses has helped growers to optimize the fertilization efficiency and increase their yields1 on several crops, including corn, rice, pasture and wheat,” says Antonio Carlos Papes, Director of Sales Brazil. ARMOUR nitrogen stabilizer is our next-generation nitrification inhibitor, which features the proprietary active ingredient Pronitridine. Each Pronitridine molecule is designed to inhibit ammonia monooxygenase (AMO), which slows nitrification (the conversion from ammonium to nitrate). ARMOUR has helped deliver highly effective performance results and optimized yields and offers protection against losses by leaching and denitrification. It is formulated for both anhydrous ammonia and UAN and is proven to keep applied nitrogen in the ammonium form up to three times longer than without an inhibitor.
Early growth soybean plantation in southern Brazil.
From our conversation, I learned that Koch has made an investment in Brazil with a research partner, the Laboratory for Research in Carbon and Nitrogen Biotransformations (LABCEN) at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. What are the aims for this collaboration? Koch is committed to our current and future Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa customers, and we want to add value for customers and farmers. In June 2021, a research agreement was signed with the Research Laboratory on Carbon and Nitrogen Biotransformations (LABCEN) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil2. “Under this agreement, LABCEN will work exclusively with Koch, conducting laboratory, greenhouse and field tests involving the evaluation of nitrification and urease inhibitors that are currently available and in development. This research will help develop customer-oriented solutions faster and more efficiently to maximize plant performance and minimized environmental impact,” explained Matias Ruffo, Director Agronomy. And finally, what’s in the pipeline for Koch? As a leader in plant nutrients, we continue to build strong relationships with our customers and work to provide solutions that are aligned with their growth strategies. “We are always looking to expand Koch’s role from nitrogen management into a nutrient management leader by building a portfolio of plant nutrition products that work to improve the efficiency, uptake and utilization of nutrients, adding value to farmers in the region. We continue to build strong relationships in Latin America, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa region and be the partner of choice,” commented Fernando Mata, Director Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. ●
We are always looking to expand Koch’s role from nitrogen management into a nutrient management leader by building a portfolio of plant nutrition products that work to improve the efficiency, uptake and utilization of nutrients, adding value to farmers in the region. We continue to build strong relationships in Latin America, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa region and be the partner of choice.
Koch Agronomic Services, LLC (Koch) offers a broad range of customized enhanced efficiency fertilizers, micronutrients and seed treatments to its customers operating in more than 55 countries globally. Koch, and its affiliates, produce and market a proven and expanding global portfolio of innovative crop nutrition technologies for agriculture producers. With a commitment to creating real, sustainable, long-term value for customers and society, Koch focuses on developing customer-driven solutions to maximize plant performance and minimize environmental impact. We are continuously examining plant nutrient science and working directly with researchers, agronomists and farmers to develop innovative solutions.
www.kochagronomicservices.com/int
Disclaimers: ANVOL®, AGROTAIN® ,ARMOUR™, ROCKET SEEDS™, WOLF TRAX™, HYDRO BULLET™, SuperN® PRO EvenCoat®, DDP®, CROPMIX™ 3-TRAX™, NU-TRAX P+® and the ANVOL, ARMOUR, ROCKET SEEDS, WOLF TRAX logo are trademarks of Koch Agronomic Services, LLC. Koch and the Koch logo are trademarks of Koch Industries, Inc. © 2022 Koch Agronomic Services, LLC. 1 Stabilizers can increase yield where nitrogen loss is a limiting factor to growth. 2 Neither these institutions, nor the individual researchers referenced, endorse or recommend any product or service.
The Crop App Index is a filterable catalogue of existing crop health related mobile apps and websites. Photo: CABI
CABI has launched the Crop App Index, a website that provides a filterable catalogue of existing crop health related mobile apps and websites along with information on their content and a link to the website or app store.
The free to access Crop App Index has been developed by CABI as part of its PlantwisePlus programme which aims to improve livelihoods by supporting the production of safer, higher quality food through sustainable approaches to crop production.
The aim of the Crop App Index is to pave the way for users, including Plantwise plant doctors, other extension workers, farmers agro-dealers, and other stakeholders, to search the Crop App Index include identification of plant pests and diseases, fertilizer recommendations, scouting and market access.
According to Dr. Rob Reeder, PlantwisePlus programme support manager, there are hundreds of digital support tools – apps or web-based applications – available to assist in crop production, but they have previously been hard to find and not easy to search in one central place.
“CABI carried out a landscaping analysis of these tools and this work highlighted the difficulties encountered when searching for
these kinds of tools, in particular, the narrowing of search results to just those related to crop production in the app stores,” noted Reeder. “Both Google and Apple allow for filters to narrow results, however these filters are generic and are not related to crop production. This highlighted the need for better ways to search for crop production apps and led to the development of the Crop App Index website.” ●
Danish Technological Institute is heading up a project that aims to develop an early warning system that will activate an alarm in greenhouses when harmful fungal spores are detected in the air. Attacks from fungal spores are typically only detected when already widespread enough to make plants rot. Fungal spores cannot be detected with the naked eye, and therefore act as one of the main threats in greenhouses.
Grey mould cultivated in the laboratory at Danish Technological Institute, is used to test sensors that measure grey mould spores in the air. Photo: Danish Technological Institute
“Sensor specialists, material chemists, fungi experts and molecular biologists involved in the project,” said sensor specialist and project manager Thor-Bjørn Ottosen with Danish Technological Institute. “It is a highly challenging task, as nurseries are already filled with particles of different kinds. That makes it challenging to identify grey mould, which is the fungus this project is focused on.”
The aim is to develop a small detector box that includes a particle counter that in real time measures the number and size of particles in the air in a greenhouse. When the particle counter registers particles the size of fungal spores, the particles are allowed to flow further into a so-called biosensor.
“The biosensor has peptides, a sort of tentacle, that stick to grey mould and nothing else. The peptides are placed on a scale the size of a few grains of sand,” explained molecular biologist and sensor specialist Majbritt Hauge Kyneb with Danish Technological Institute. “When the scale is weighed down with grey mould, the fungi alarm in the greenhouse goes off.”
The development of a successful online early warning system based on particle counters and biosensors will be the first of its kind worldwide. The project partners expect it could subsequently pave the way for additional detection systems aimed at airborne pests, such as other plant diseases, allergy-causing pollen or animal diseases.
The project runs from 2021-2025 in a collaboration between Danish Technological Institute, Aarhus University (department of environmental science), AmiNIC ApS (sensors), Senmatic A/S (controller technology) and the greenhouses PKM, Lundegaard and Hjortebjerg. The project is funded by the Green Development and Demonstration Programme (GUDP) under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark. ●
Using computational entomological models, U.S.-based FarmSense has created a real-time sensor that can help farmers make better decisions for pest management.
The agtech startup recently announced it has been awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds in the amount of more than USD$2.2 million to aid in ongoing biosecurity research, including the impact of Japanese beetles and gypsy moths as invasive species.
The company's novel classification algorithms, combined with its FlightSensor, help farmers identify harmful insects in their fields in real time, providing better data for critical decisions that can potentially lower pesticide use and increase crop yield.
"The growing consensus is that early detection and rapid response is the best solution to the pest issues facing us. However, early detection has been a challenge due to lack of robust automatic surveillance systems," said Dr. Shailendra Singh, FarmSense co-founder and CTO. "FarmSense's real-time classification and monitoring system provides faster, more accurate counts to alert farmers to species more quickly, enabling a proactive response that can save time, money, and crops."
During the study, FarmSense will investigate how the FlightSensor can improve invasive pest control for rural communities in California. The company will test new classification models and algorithms that can detect multiple commercially significant species at the onset of their arrival to an area. The company will also explore ways to reduce power requirements and improve battery life for FlightSensors.
The company plans to publicly launch its FlightSensor this year, with a focus on the navel orangeworm, a pest prevalent in California nut farming. ●
FarmSense will launch its FlightSensor this year, with a focus on the navel orangeworm, a pest prevalent in California nut farming.
Photo: Pexels
Imperial College London (England) startup FA Bio (formerly FungiAlert), founded in 2015 by Imperial PhD alumnae Dr Angela De Manzanos Guinot and Dr Kerry O’Donnelly Weaver, has developed tools to provide an early warning to farmers about the presence of threatening pathogens.
Following an investment from Sussex Place Ventures and Dr Paul Atherton, a British serial entrepreneur and Imperial alumnus, the company moved to the UK’s Rothhamsted Research Centre and began commercializing its SporSenZ technology.
FA Bio has deployed its SporSenZ soil microbial analysis tool in 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Americas, with the aim of analyzing not only the unique microbial content of soil in different locations, but also the relationship between microbes and crops.
“We believe that by enhancing our understanding of soil and its microbiota, we can identify and develop revolutionary bioproducts that can replace or enhance agrochemicals, minimizing soil degradation whilst also improving crop yields to guarantee food security,” said Dr Angela De Manzanos Guinot, CEO of FA Bio.
In order to achieve its mission, FA Bio is composed of two underlying elements, FA BioLab and FA BioAg, each with different but complementary functions. FA BioLab focuses on the studying of soil microbial communities to collect crop targeted microbial libraries. FA BioAg focuses on identifying and investigating the biotechnological potential of soil microbes to be developed into superior bio-products (biofungicides and biofertilizers) for agriculture. ●
Saudi Arabia-based SABIC, a diversified chemicals company with a focus on agri-nutrients, has signed a technology collaboration agreement with Intrinsyx Bio, a California based company focused on the development and commercialization of endophytes (plant microbes).
As part of this collaboration, SABIC will be evaluating Intrinsyx Bio’s patented endophyte products’ technology and their ability to fix nitrogen from the air and improve crop yield and farmers’ investment.
“SABIC Agri Nutrients Company focuses on responsive sustainable innovations to provide food and fibre to the world,” said Munif Al Munif, general manager T&I of SABIC Agri Nutrients. This collaboration with Intrinsyx Bio would lead to the next generation bio-enhanced fertilizers.”
Intrinsyx Bio’s solutions are built on three decades of academic research in the plant microbiome and field trialing across the U.S. and Europe. Its endophyte products rely on
improved nutrient use efficiency to simultaneously increase crop yields and optimize the use of nitrogen fertilizers.
“Our solutions enable companies like SABIC to optimize nitrogen use on a global scale,” said Ahsan Ali, CEO of Intrinsyx Bio. ●
Hello Nature, manufacturer of organic fertilizers, biostimulants and microbials, has partnered with Indiana (U.S.) business MPS Egg Farms to form a joint venture that will make a nearly USD$50 million investment in Wabash, Indiana to construct and operate a specialty fertilizer manufacturing facility.
Combining raw materials and technolgies, the joint venture, Bionutrients, will employ 46 people and construct two facilities totaling nearly 300,000 square feet in Wabash, Indiana. The partners will break ground this spring, with the facility fully operationally in the summer of 2023.
The facility will expand Hello Nature’s Indiana presence and complements its two facilities – a plant for the production of biostimulants and the R&D Center Nello Bonini Innovation Hub – in Anderson, Indiana.
“We believe this new production facility will be a turning point for the North American market,” said Luca Bonini, Hello Nature’s CEO. “Today the fertilizer industry undergoes multiple challenges such as rising prices, logistics issues and shortage of inputs. Our facility will ensure a regular production of sustainable fertilizers to help North American farmers achieve their yield goals.”
The project will also enhance MPS operations in and near Wabash. “MPS is excited to partner with
Hello Nature to bring their expertise to Wabash,” said Dan Krouse, vice president of operations at MPS Egg Farms. “After a thorough review of potential sites in two states, we determined Wabash was the most attractive location and allowed us to expand at home.” ●
Tessenderlo Group plans to construct a new production line for organic fertilizers in Vénérolles (Aisne, France). The new line will focus on the production of organic pellets for its growth unit Violleau, responding to the rising demand for organic fertilizers.
It is scheduled to be operational from Q1 2023 and will be constructed on the site of Akiolis’ manufacturing plant in Vénérolles. Thanks to the contribution of meat and bone meal and animal proteins (category 2 and category 3) from Akiolis (bio-valorization segment), Violleau is able to offer products with a high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus.
In 2021, Tessenderlo Group created a new growth unit, Violleau, to support the growth of organic agricultural solutions in Europe. Violleau specializes in the production of organic amendments and fertilizers from animal and vegetable matter as well as the commercialization of biocontrol products. Violleau’s organic and organo-mineral formulations that are made in France, in compost or pellets, can be used in organic and conventional agriculture for applications in field crops, vineyards, arboriculture, market gardening or green spaces.
“Our new production line responds to the growing demand for organic fertilizers from the European market, which is in line with the European Union's Farm to Fork Strategy,” said Didier Coppieters, GU director of Violleau.
According to Dominique Billard, general manager Violleau France, the new production line in Vénérolles “will ensure better service to the agricultural market in northern France and Belgium.” Violleau already operates a production plant in La Ronde en Deux-Sèvres (France). ●
