Because of increased drought stress, unpredictable weather and disease/pest pressures in various parts of the world, interest in crop biostimulants continues to grow. The European Biostimulants Industry Council (EBIC) points to many peer-reviewed academic and company field trials that show biostimulants can increase nutrient use efficiency by five to 10 percent, among other important crop performance benefits.
(Story update January 5th, 2023)
But as with any input, farmers need to know the basics about ingredients in these products, whether plant- or microbial-based, how their modes of action work and if these products actually do work. As noted by researchers at Farming Smarter in Alberta, Canada, access to a plethora of crop products, including growth hormones, mycorrhizae and biostimulants, “have left crop producers overwhelmed with anecdotal claims of higher-yielding crops and healthier soils.”
Farming Smarter is a policy-governed, non-profit organization that drives innovation at the farm level through agronomic testing and scientific knowledge. The organization’s research coordinator, Mike Gretzinger, says they’ve been contacted by a very large number of farmers in recent years with questions about biostimulants.
“Some products claim use will provide a biomass increase or yield bump, some make claims about increased germination,” he says. “Other products address specific issues such as prevention of ‘flower blasting’ in canola, a very undesirable response to heat stress.”
Dr. Gurbir Dhillon, Farming Smarter research scientist, notes there are
already many published peer-reviewed studies showing how biostimulants, as their name suggests, stimulate existing physiological processes to benefit growth, development and stress response in plants. Echoing the EBIC, Dhillon says “faster growth can result from stimulation of macronutrient uptake or nitrogen metabolism, for example.”
Due to myriad questions the organization receives, in 2020 Farming Smarter began a three-year study with several partners comparing traditional crop inputs with four biostimulant products in wheat, canola and field peas in three locations. So far, Dhillon notes that peas have shown the most response.
“We saw quite few products that seemed to increase yield, and we’re not sure at this point why pea yields were so much more affected,” says Gretzinger. “It could be that in wheat and canola there were other yield-limiting factors.”
New product researchTo develop and test potential products, greenhouse and growth chamber work in controlled conditions is done first, followed by field trials, replicated field trials and large-scale field trials in many geographies and environments. Some firms also have testing done by companies like SGS North America, which has been testing biostimulants for many years and reports an increase in requests over the last three years for testing bio-based crop products.
Following is a small roundup of some company research, and all companies can be contacted for more detail on trials and published study results.
Modes of actionYara has done its own trials on its Procote Rhizolift coated granular fertilizer at different Yara facilities in Germany, the UK and Brazil, and also has had research done at independent research institutes. In total, there have been over 20 R&D trials for this product so far, in four countries across 10 crops.
“As we know, biostimulants can have more than one mode of action, and we noticed that with Procote Rhizolift,” explains Maria Elize Bordoni, Yara’s product manager for coatings. “The main ones are related to increased phosphorus [P] use efficiency, mainly increasing P availability and uptake by crops. And the improvement on root growth and all the benefits related to that.”
Specifically, research has involved measurement and analysis of P availability in the soil, nutrient (N, P, Z, Ca etc.) accumulation in root and above-ground plant tissue, comparing plants receiving treatments with fertilizer coated and not coated with Procote Rhizolift.
“We also did some trials measuring NDVI, emergency speed index, yield, biometric parameters (dry matter, fresh matter, for roots and aerial parts) and also the response to abiotic stress conditions,” says Bordoni. “We did tests under drought and cold stress conditions, with sand and loam soil, with high and low level of organic matter in the soil and in conditions of low and good soil fertility [which cover] a lot of representative different conditions to build a consistent result database.”
Mixture of ingredientsHechenbichler’s Amalgerol Essence (an enhanced version of their decades-old Amalgerol product) is registered in Canada and certified for organic farming in the European Union. Hechenbichler is based in Austria and Amalgerol has been available for decades. Amalgerol Essence is currently being trialed in Canada in canola, pea, lentil and soybean in Ontario and across the Canadian Prairies. It’s a foliar application with seven types of ingredients.
For some of the product’s active ingredients, the mode of action and benefit is straightforward. For example, alginate (derived from seaweed) has water retention properties and functions as a soil conditioner. However, for others such as the botanical extracts, mode of action is not yet known.
Dr. Logan Skori, Hechenbichler’s technical lead in Canada, explains that the extracts contain many components which help strengthen the plant immune system.
“Due to the wide spectrum of metabolites within plant tissue, it is difficult to precisely understand the complex mode of action,” he says. “The molecular compounds are diverse in nature and can have many properties including antioxidant and antifungal properties.”
The “hydrosylated” protein in Amalgerol Essence has undergone chemical hydrolysis, where large proteins are broken down into short amino acid chains and amino acids. The latter, says Skori, can be absorbed by the plant via both leaves and root tissues, stimulating nitrogen metabolism and assimilation. Hydrosylated protein may also help induce plant defence responses to increase tolerance to various types of abiotic stress.
Plant hormones, derived from Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract, trigger growth, but Skori says they also play an important role in regulating response to abiotic and biotic stress. Amalgerol Essence also contains organic carbon, a source of nutrition for soil microbes that break down organic matter and make nutrients available to roots.
Hechenbichler’s research trials, its own and collaborative, have been happening for over 20 years. Among its own peer-reviewed published studies, one on spinach shows that
applying the product results in a 43 percent increase in yield, 50 percent increase in dry leaf matter, 15 percent increase in leaf protein content and 31 percent increase in phenolics (antioxidants). Another study shows improved water stress tolerance in citrus trees before transplanting.
“One of our most recent third-party scientific studies focused on the application of Amalgerol Essence on drought-stressed tomatoes with a collaborator based in France,” reports Skori. “Three groups of tomato plants were grown under greenhouse conditions. Plants treated with Amalgerol Essence had reduced levels of proline (a biomarker for plant stress) in leaf tissue.”
Following recovery from drought, the treated plants had increased biomass compared to control plants. Skori adds that “when the respective groups were harvested, there was no statistical significance between the non-stressed control and the stressed plants treated with Amalgerol Essence. This suggests the product helped mitigate plant stress and helped to preserve yield potential.”The role plant hormones play in the mode of action of seaweed-based biostimulants has been an active line of research in recent years. EBIC will release a White Paper in January 2023 entitled: "Recent insights into the mode of action of seaweed-based plant biostimulants". "Contrary to earlier hypotheses, recent research has shown that the effects of seaweed extracts on plants and their metabolism appear to be largely a function of other biomolecules (carbohydrates, polyphenols, etc.), which modulate gene expression and induce metabolic changes in plants that lead to the observed biostimulant effects," the paper states in its opening summary.
Seaweed compoundsAcadian Plant Health (a division of Nova Scotia, Canada-based Acadian Seaplants) has released a new highly concentrated biostimulant extract for field crops called EnVoy, derived from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum. It supports improved yield and protects the plant through supporting optimal root growth and plant establishment.
The company says EnVoy contains natural chelators that bind to micronutrients, leading to improved uptake and movement of micronutrients within the plant. EnVoy also promotes antioxidant production which aids in stress tolerance and improves photosynthesis; chlorophyll production is increased and there is improved regulation of water loss through stomata in times of moisture stress.
Regarding nutrient uptake, a 2021 published study by researchers at Dalhousie University in Canada on corn showed increased root and shoot growth with the extract under both normal and phosphorus-limited conditions, especially with the latter.
“To better understand the mode of action, the researchers also looked at changes in gene expression between treatments, where they discovered numerous differences
that improve growth and metabolism under P deficiency,” says Dr. Holly Little, Acadian Plant Health's head of R&D. “They found that the application of Acadian seaweed extract improved the growth of corn by redistribution of P reserves, and by regulation of both physiological and biochemical processes.”
In a soybeans study, other independent researchers looked at differences in plant performance before, during and after drought stress. “This research showed with our unique extraction process, we were able to liberate numerous bioactive compounds such as mannitol, polysaccharides and betaines,” notes Little. “These compounds have shown to improve plant tolerance to stressful growing conditions, including but not limited to heat stress and drought.”
Little explains that mannitol is critical in protecting the cell water balance in stress situations to prevent cell water loss. Polysaccharides elicit antioxidant production which keeps cell integrity and neutralizes free radicals. Proline strengthens cell wall membranes, protects key metabolic enzymes and also prevents cell water loss. “Our seaweed extract also contains natural betaines, while also eliciting betaine production,” Little says. “This again prevents cell water loss for great photosynthesis.”
During 2021, Acadian Plant Health conducted its own EnVoy field trials in corn, soybeans and cotton in various locations where these crops are grown and where heat and drought stress is common. “In these trials, we tested different methods of application, both foliar and in-furrow, as well as different rates and timings,” says Little. “The results were encouraging, with an increase in root biomass and yield for all three crops. With regards to yield increase, on average we observed a 5.2 percent increase for corn, 11.7 percent for cotton and 9.6 percent for soybeans.”
In 2022, the trials were repeated and expanded, with 19 trials in the U.S. (corn, soybeans, cotton and potato) and 18 in Canada (canola, wheat, soybeans, corn and potato). “The objective of the trials was to fine-tune the application method, rate and timing of EnVoy for all these crops and compare its performance with market competitors,” says Little. “In the U.S., these results will serve to validate the 2021 trials, and in Canada, this will serve to provide additional data in trials in different geographies. We expect to have results and conclusions from these trials by the end of 2022.”
Biostimulant research challengesAs with any product applied to plants or soil, biostimulant performance can be impacted by many factors. These include plant growth stage at application, weather during the growing season, and interactions with fertilizer and crop protection products. Companies must also confront in their product R&D, the fact that consistency can be an issue when it comes to biological ingredients.
With regards to the seaweed component of Amalgerol Essence, Hechenbichler scientist Dr. Ann Radtke explains that the stresses that seaweed are exposed to can affect their levels of phytohormones. “In addition, the seaweed extract as well as the protein hydrolysate are full of different molecules with different effects in the plant,” she says. “This makes [research] very complex.”
Little also points out that seaweed extracts are complex mixtures of numerous bioactive components, and that extracts from different seaweed species each have their own profile of bioactive compounds with varying rates of efficacy.
“However, the variation between different seaweed-based biostimulants is due to more than just the variety of seaweed,” she explains. “Research has established that the process used to make an extract is an important variable in defining its bioactivity. Acadian has robust protocols and testing in place to ensure the quality and consistency of all our products, but unfortunately not all biostimulant companies endeavour to dothe same.”
Bordoni adds that the research that goes into a biostimulant’s delivery method can be complex as well. In the case of Procote Rhizolift, she says it’s “quite challenging to keep the biostimulants soluble, available and working/active under the conditions of fertilizer surface (salinity, acidic, hygroscopicity), and also create a formula that allow us to reduce the abrasion between the fertilizer granules and reduce dust formation.”
While biostimulant research isn’t easy, it’s of course critical to ensure farmers feel confident about spending money to try various products. And as environmental stresses such as drought and late frosts, for example, continue to threaten yield, research into new products, modes of action and amplifying the power of biostimulants is sure to continue. ●
Mike Gretzinger with Farming Smarter conducts biostimulant-based research in southern Alberta, Canada.
Maria Elize Bordoni, Yara
Logan Skori, Hechenbichler
Acadian Plant Health has conducted extensive researchon its biostimulant EnVoy.
To better understand the mode of action, the researchers also looked at changes in gene expression between treatments.
Research found that the application of Acadian seaweed extract improved the growth of corn by redistribution of P reserves, and by regulation of both physiological and biochemical processes.Photo: Acadian Plant Health
Farmers are faced with more challenges than ever, with higher fertilizer costs, difficult growing conditions, and more regulation from local governments with restrictions on synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.While the world is grappling with war and food shortages, global supply chain disruptions, and the growing impact of climate change, farmers are being tasked with producing more food against an uphill battle of skepticism from consumers. The demand for a sustainable and secure global food system has never been clearer with consumers along the food value chain seeking more transparency into growing practices and demanding more regenerative and sustainable efforts in food production. Meeting society’s demand to bring farming and nature closer, while still producing the food needed for a growing population depends on the agricultural industry’s ability to adapt to these changing pressures. So how does the agricultural industry increase the ability to grow healthy, productive crops, under extreme growing conditions in the short-term and the long-term? That may be the most important agricultural topic of our lifetimes. First, let’s look at the biggest driver of yield loss today.Abiotic stress (drought, heat, flooding…) is the worst yield robber for farmers today, as it substantially limits crop productivity worldwide. New strategies must be employed to manage the effects of extreme weather the agriculture industry is enduring.It’s no coincidence that extreme weather is on the rise. Compounding weather events are testing the agriculture industry’s resilience and capacity to respond and adapt. And adapt they must. According to research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, throughout Europe, crop losses reported due to extreme weather events have tripled over the last 50 years. Additionally, 80% of farmers globally say their farms are impacted by climate change.Over the past 40 years, the agricultural industry has mainly focused on solving the biotic equation of crop loss (weeds, diseases, and pests). Yet when you dig a little deeper it becomes clear we must put more effort into solving the main yield robber in agriculture, abiotic stress. Abiotic stress directly impacts the growth and yield of a crop and has 7x-10x more impact on a crop than disease or pests.
Managing the effects ofMother Nature with the powerof Mother NatureBiostimulants, such as seaweed extracts, are a class of agricultural input derived from natural resources. When applied to the plant they induce innate, natural processes that help the plant to better cope with abiotic stress. A growing body of evidence indicates that applications of Acadian Plant Health’s alkaline extracted Ascophyllum nodosum (ANE) (a species of intertidal brown seaweed) broadly influences the physiology of the plant, improving the crop’s resiliency under stress, ultimately improving crop productivity and yield. This offers exciting insights into how biostimulants can support agriculture. But what is even more interesting is what Acadian Plant Health™ has been able to pull out of this resilient marine plant to further enhance the performance of their biostimulants.“We have been able to study the effect of our seaweed extract on plants experiencing heat stress. With our unique extraction process, we are able to liberate numerous bioactive compounds such as mannitol, polysaccharides, and betaines. These compounds have shown to improve plant tolerance to stressful growing conditions, including, but not limited to, heat stress and drought,” says Dr. Holly Little, Director of Research and Development at Acadian Plant Health™. “Mannitol is critical in protecting the cell water balance in stress situations to prevent cell water loss. Key polysaccharides elicit antioxidant production which keeps cell integrity and neutralizes free radicals. Proline production strengthens cell wall membranes, protects key metabolic enzymes, and mediates water balance in stress situations to prevent cell water loss. And lastly, our seaweed extract contains natural betaines, while also eliciting betaine production. This again prevents cell water loss due to dry or salty environments and balances cell water content for great photosynthesis,” says Dr. Little.In a study conducted by Acadian Plant Health™, three-week-old soybean plants were placed in a growth chamber set at 27°C for a 16-hour day length. Plants were treated with fertilizer alone vs. fertilizer plus Acadian Plant Health™ seaweed extract. In this video, you can see the temperature of the plants as they become exposed to heat andwater stress.
The plants treated with Acadian Plant Health™ seaweed extracts were significantly cooler than the untreated plants. When plants are rewatered, a larger percentage of the leaves on the treated plant recover, and the plant can return to normal functioning – transpiring to cool leaf temperature much faster thanthe control.“Drought alone causes more annual loss in crop yield than all pathogens combined. Add in heat stress and you have major challenges that are difficult to recover from,” says Dr. Little. “There continues to be a need to produce high-yielding plants that use water more efficiently than their present-day counterparts. The use of biostimulants like seaweed extracts could be an underutilized solution for the agricultural industry. Our research efforts will continue to be focused on uncovering the physiology of the plant response to our seaweed extract concerning climate-induced stressors such as heat and drought. To ensure food security we must deliver new strategies to combat scarcity.”Today Acadian Plant Health™ continues to invest heavily in R&D to prove the science behind these products. There is massive commercial value in collective action between biological and synthetic industries to solve both biotic and abiotic challenges, with biostimulants moving the industry to a more regenerative, sustainable farming practice that continues to deliver yield. It is why Acadian Plant Health™ opened its new Formulation Centre of Excellence in Malvern, U.K. The world-leading facility will drive the creation of tailored proprietary formulations with company partners and develop optimized solutions for abiotic stress management. It is Acadian’s belief that working together can break the fundamental paradox in agriculture to create a food system that is both productive and sustainable – one that benefits both plant and planet for all. ●
Interested to discover sustainable solutions that work? Contact us at AcadianPlantHealth.com
Brazilian researchers have developed a 100 percent organic “bioactivator” with a biostimulant and plant growth potentiating action that stimulates resistance against pests and diseases, having been shown to be especially effective in controlling nematodes.
Baptized with the name of Organic Bloom, the bio-input is produced with its own raw material based on phytic acid, a multifunctional form of organic phosphorus with chelating potential that is extracted from defatted rice bran. The formulation is completed with amino acids from non-GMO soybean meal, which creates a safe protection against biotic and abiotic stresses.
According to Cristiane dos Reis, agronomist and director of research and development (R&D) with Ingal Agrotecnologia, the product’s antioxidant action helps in the assimilation of nutrients, fights the aging of the plant, helps in germination, increases the volume of roots and contributes to the maintenance of microorganisms.
“Organic Bloom has rapid assimilation and translocation
in the plant, acting as a stimulant for photosynthesis and the formation of defense substances and promoting greater flowering, fruiting and grain filling,” she notes. “The bioactivator has excellent performance in reducing stress and phytotoxicity, when associated with the application of agrochemicals.”
Organic Bloom was presented this year during the 37th Brazilian Congress of Nematology by Ingal Agrotecnologia, an agtech startup that emerged from the development of Organic Bloom within the Brazilian Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). The biological input has the IBD seal (Biodynamic Institute for Rural Development), which attests to its international certification as an organic product.
“As it is a natural product, derived from plant sources, it is fully compatible with other technologies and adjusts to a wide pH range, being recommended to be added together with the syrup in applications with biological or chemical products,” says dos Reis. With a liquid formulation, the product has a shelf life of three years guaranteed on the label, without the need for special storage, as phytic acid is an excellent natural preservative agent.
Chelating potential of phytic acidPhytic acid is a negatively charged molecule over a wide pH range, with 12 replaceable protons. These particularities allow the formation of compounds based on their ability to chelate with polyvalent metals, especially divalent and trivalent cations, making them bioavailable.
Phytic acid is distributed in different constituents of rice; 80 percent phytic phosphorus is concentrated in the pericarp and aleurone, 7.6 percent is concentrated in the germ and 1.2 percent is concentrated in the endosperm. Rice bran is composed of pericarp, aleurone and germ, which explains its high content of phytic acid.
Phytic acid is an efficient and economically viable antioxidant to preserve biological material that is sensitive to oxygen due to its ability to chelate multivalent metal ions, especially iron, zincand calcium.
The ability to chelate iron makes it catalytically inactive, making phytic acid an inhibitor of iron-mediated hydroxyl (OH) radical production. In addition, it alters the redox potential of iron keeping it in its ferric form (Fe3+). This effect provides protection against oxidative damage because Fe2+ causes the production of lipid oxyradicals, while Fe3+ is inert.
Nematicidal actionOver the course of many initial surveys, there were reports of growers who, after testing Organic Bloom, noticed improvements in areas infested by nematodes. From there, official reports on nematode mortality and penetration were contracted with researcher Tatiane Zambiasi, who leads the laboratory at Agromax Pesquisa, in Primavera
do Leste, a city in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.
The first works were tests carried out in the laboratory (in vitro), and the result was that Organic Bloom reached effectiveness in controlling nematodes such as Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Heterodera and Rotylenchulus. Organic Bloom proved to be efficient in controlling eggs and juveniles of the most relevant phytonematodes that attack the main agricultural crops.
“Organic Bloom is the first and only 100 percent organic plant bioactivator that has a nematicide effect for Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica, Pratylenchus brachyurus, Heterodera glycines and Rotylenchulus reniformis. After this first report, we started field tests, and Organic Bloom was efficient in combating the penetration of nematodes into the roots of soybeans, corn, beans and cotton,” says dos Reis. “In addition, we came to the conclusion that combining seed treatment with the application of the product via the planting furrow, potentiate the nematicide effect and result in greater productivity.”
A curious fact, she recalls, was that when hiring this report, those responsible for the tests warned that most similar products on the market are not successful in this initial test, which works as a “screening” for products with possible efficiency for nematodes. That's why Organic Bloom’s performance was even more surprising, say the developers.
In addition, the bioactivator becomes a “potentiator” for other nematicides. The most recent trials focused on the analysis of the potential of Organic Bloom as an activator of the microbiota, more specifically focused on increasing the activity and efficiency of formulated biological nematicides present on the market. In some cases, when added to another biological nematicide, Organic Bloom increased the number of colony forming units (CFU/mL) by almost 10 times, proving to be a very strong ally for the consolidation and success of these microorganisms in the soil, mainly promoting the beneficial microbiota and fighting nematodes.
“We are studying further, but we know that it probably acts on the digestive system of nematodes. That's why we describe Organic Bloom as a potential controller of infestations of these soil parasites,” says dos Reis.
Resistance to drought, sandy soilsThe proline present in Organic Bloom is an amino acid that is involved in the resistance mechanism to abiotic stresses. On the other hand, phytic acid also contributes to the relief of water and heat stress, not only in the early stages of seedling development, but also in terminal stresses, after flowering. Phytic acid acts in the regulation of stomatal opening and closing, reducing the transpiration rate of the plant during high temperature or water stress. In addition, phytic acid is a substrate for the synthesis of additional signaling molecules that alleviate these stresses.
The technology also proved to be relevant to face sandy and degraded soils, mainly because these soils are poor in nutrients and organic matter, and consequently have a fragile biological system, which must be stimulated. Phytic acid chelates mono and divalent cations (calcium, molybdenum, magnesium, iron, zinc, among others). For this reason, Organic Bloom is not a nutritional product, but assists in the assimilation and transport of essential nutrients to the plant. The carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen (N) present in the organic form in Organic Bloom act as a substrate for the growth of microorganisms, and these microorganisms help in the mineralization of organic compounds, helping the formation of humus, motivating the cycling of nutrients and the increase oforganic matter.
Glutamate (amino acid) has organic N, which is very efficient for the supply to the plant, since the plant spends less energy for its assimilation when compared to the mineral forms of N. In addition, sandy soils are also prone to the incidence of nematodes, which can be fought with Organic Bloom. These soils also retain less water, a difficulty that can be overcome by drought resistance mechanisms.
Qualified researchProduct research began in 2004, in partnership with Professor Dr. Leila Picolli, from UFSM. The University supported the development of
technology, which was the subject of study in several dissertations and theses, as well as scientific materials published in national and international journals about the stages of development of the extraction of phytic acid fromrice bran.
The development in partnership with the Federal University of Santa Maria continues, and the bioactivator label “carries the UFSM brand, having a contract with the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) that guarantees this use,” says dos Reis. She adds that the consolidation of the product in the market was carried out with technology validation tests at several Brazilian research stations accredited to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), with the support of a series of influential researchers in Brazilian agribusiness.
One of the technology’s differentials is precisely the continuity of “qualified research, which is concerned with positioning the product to combine productivity and sustainability,” notes dos Reis. “The research started in 2004 and continues to the present day, and that is why we are still discovering the size of the potential of Organic Bloom, which has shown promise for various purposes in agriculture.”
Promising resultsOrganic Bloom bioactivator is already being applied in several Brazilian states, showing promising results in practically all regions, soil types and climates in Brazil. “There are several producers and large agricultural groups using the technology and helping to disseminate the results and expand the areas of operation,” says dos Reis, adding the farmer's acceptance has been excellent. “The farmer has shown himself to be very much admired in the face of such promising results. They compare the technology to a revolution that is here to stay, as well as the consolidation of the use of no-till.”
In addition to several Brazilian states, the product is being distributed in Paraguay, with procedures to increase exports in several countries in Latin and North America. “Our focus has been direct on the producer. We have a well-structured technical and commercial base that work together and support the producer throughout the crop cycle,” concludes dos Reis. ●
Organic Bloom is aPlant Bioactivator thatcombines bioactive aminoacids and phytic acid.
Photo: Ingal Agrotecnologia
Organic Bloom is a “bioactivator” with a biostimulant and plant growth potentiating action that stimulates resistance against pests and diseases, and has shown to be especially effective in controlling nematodes.Here it is being applied at Estancia Cerro do Ouro, city of São Gabriel, southern Brazil.
The consolidation of the product in the market was carried out with technology validation tests at several Brazilian research stations.”
SummaryBTU-CENTER, a Ukrainian manufacturer of 60 biologicals, presented its innovative adhesive agent Liposam on ABIM 2022. The complex biological adhesive agent prevents the dripping of pesticides, fertilizers and stimulants from the surface of the leaf and enhances plant resistance to stress factors. Liposam forms a protective elastic net that retains moisture, doesn’t destroy the natural shell of the seeds. Breathing and photosynthesis are free. It operates in a wide range of temperatures from 5° to 50° С. The shelf life is 3 years.Liposam is practiced in 12 countries worldwide, both in organic farming and IPM. More than 2 mln ha of farmland are treated with the adhesive annually. The efficiency was noted by 86% of farmers. An agent is compatible in tank mixtures with the most active substances. Product is completely safe and certified for organic agriculture. In December 2021 Liposam got approval by BVL as an adjuvant in Germany. This gives it a new opportunity for the development on the world market.
CompositionLiposam is based on exopolysaccharides produced by the PGPR bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa. Bacteria are known to secrete exopolysaccharides to attach to substrate surfaces, such as soil particles or plant roots as well as to create comfortable living conditions for cells. In the molecule of the polysaccharide, individual cells are able to access moisture and nutrients located at the opposite end of the colony. These properties, fixation and transportation, make microbial polysaccharides a versatile tool. First, it is a safe way to fix the active substances on the surface of the plant or in the top layer of soil, where such substances should be preserved at the place of application. Secondly, bacterial exopolysaccharides demonstrate the ability to accumulate moisture and act as protector against various stress factors - freezing, high temperatures or drought.
Uniqueness and propertiesThe uniqueness of this preparation is enabled by specific spatial configuration of macromolecules of biopolymers, which forms on the surface of the leaf a net-like cover that softly covers the plants and pods without hampering the growth, breathing and photosynthesis processes. Unlike synthetic adhesive agents, which break a wax layer of the leaf, Liposam acts gently making no harm to this natural shell, thanks to what the plants became less vulnerable to the diseases. Besides, getting into the surface of the plant, Liposam drops occupy the area which is 1,2-2 times bigger than without it. Together with this, the height of the drop is decreasing by 10-30% depending on the concentration of solution and drop size. Such spreading of solution on the leaf not only makes the contact of working solution but also prevents sunburns that can be caused by lenticular drop. Moreover, being the product of life of agronomical valuable microorganisms, this adhesive agent is also an additional source of plant nutrition.Applying Liposam with herbicides it fixes herbicides on the upper layer in soil and protects from leaching down. At the expense of retention of the working solution in the upper soil layer the effect of herbicides on weed increases and its phytotoxicity towards cultivated plants decreases as the majority of them grow from the soil layer 5-10 cm and that is where they face the increased concentration of herbicides but the root system of the plants is not influenced by itsharmful effect.Evidence baseAdhesive properties of Liposam allows to prevent flushing of active substances from different leaves in case of moderate rain up to +50-100% after 30 minutes of application and +92-500% after 60 minutes in comparison to control.
To visualize the ability Liposam to attach the leaves we added 1 g / 100 ml of fluorescent stain to two solutions and made 2-3 injections of adhesive solution and water (control). See the results onthe image.Besides main function as adhesive agent, Liposam improves drought tolerance of plants. In dry conditions of North-East Institute of Agriculture, Ukraine due to this effect Liposam® provided +0,82 t/ha on corn and +0,78 t/ha on sunflower.Liposam is applied in a pre-sowing seed treatment of sunflower, corn, rapeseed, soybean, vegetable crops as well as in processing of potato tubers and plant bulbs. It improves the homogeneity of seed coating with biological preparations, other plant protection agents and nutrition of seed, ensuring their close contact with the treated surface. In case of insufficient moisture content in soil, the water-absorbing polymer membrane of Liposam makes it possible to save seeds for a long time (up to 1 month), increases field germination, and promotes better formation of the root system.A vegetable farm in Vasylivka, Vinnytsia region, Ukraine, have applied Liposam with the pre-planting treatment of cabbage seedlings by soaking the roots of seedlings in Liposam solution. As a result, the seedlings' survivalwas 100%.BTU-CENTER also checked the influence on the migration of nutrients and matter in the 0-50 cm soil layer. Three tubus with
low-humus soil were sprayed in three different manners – (1) with chemical adjuvant, (2) Liposam, (3) water (control). The daily watering was 50 ml per one item. The lowest filtrate received was in the variant with Liposam (285 ml), then with water (305 ml) and then with chemical analogue (360 ml). The research was repeated twice.After filtrates have been received, corn was sowed into moisture-saturated cylinder. Here is the results of average plants height for5 pcs, cm
The analogue preparation reduced the water-holding capacity of the soil by 13-18%, while Liposam, on the contrary, and increased it by 2-7% compared to the control. The application of a typical analogue preparation and Liposam on the soil surface reduced the migration of organic, mineral and organo-mineral components beyond the 0-50 cm layer by 25-41% compared to the control.ConclusionLiposam is an environmentally pure product, so its use instead of synthetic analogues will contribute to the production of healthy foods. It is a multifunctional biological that functions as an adhesive, adjuvant, antitranspirant, sorbent-carrier, antidote, antistressant, soil conditioner and net-forming agent. It is compatible with all water-soluble fertilizers, plant protection products, growth regulators and biologicals and available with the most application methods. ●
To learn more about efficiency, research base, availability in your region and cooperation opportunities don’thesitate to contactBTU-CENTER directly:export@btu-center.com
SynTech Research Group has acquired North American-based Wagner Regulatory Associates Inc. (WRA), located in Hockessin, Delaware, U.S.
SynTech Research Group stated the acquisition of WRA represents a key building block in establishing SynTech Research Group as a leading global regulatory services provider, complementing its existing capabilities in Europe (GAB Consulting) and Latin America (SynTech LAM).
Wagner Regulatory Associates are pesticide, fertilizer and biostimulant regulatory consultants, providing federal EPA and state regulatory services in the U.S. and Canada. The company stated that Jim Wagner, founder of the company, and his team have wide knowledge and experiences gained from working in and with multinational companies, and that they have been achieving federal and state registration approvals from their base near Washington D.C. for over 20 years.
WRA’s service offerings will complement those provided by GAB Consulting in Europe and the company’s regulatory team in Latin America. WRA will continue to work with current and future clients under its existing brand. ●
Atlántica Agrícola announced the worldwide launching of Grupo Atlántica, a concentration of the two entities under the same ownership that until now operated independently.
According to Marta Gutiérrez, CEO of Grupo Atlántica, the group will bring together the teams and the global experience needed to offer solutions to its clients with the agility and flexibility they need today.
“To meet the demands of today's agriculture, we need to create a business environment that enables us to effectively and sustainably address the technological challenges of today's agriculture, and sustainably address the technological, regulatory and market challenges that we now face,” said Gutiérrez.
With this new merger, the companies Atlántica Agrícola, Fertival, BioAtlántica and Agroresource become part of the same group under the slogan ‘Natural Company’, which refers to the purpose of all the brands to maintain the naturalness of the soils, plants, fruits and living beings around a crop, while providing effective results for the farmer.
“Grupo Atlántica is the element that we were missing for the start of a new stage oriented towards change, in which the customer is at the centre of everything, and in which our R&D, digital transformation and awareness, and sustainability at all levels are going to be the cornerstones of our work,” noted Gutiérrez. "Grupo Atlantica is already having a positive impact on our business and our people: we are creating training groups for the future leaders of the companies that make up the group. Among many other synergies at different levels, the management staff is shared, and this allows us to transfer the talent that can exist between our companies which enriches our collaborators and dynamizes their activity, increasing the attractiveness of their work.”
Atlántica Agrícola is a provider of bionutrition, biostimulation and plant bioprotection. With 40 years of experience and 250 employees, today it expands worldwide through eight subsidiaries and a distribution network that brings its solutions to 70 countries. In the coming year, the company plans to increase its investment figures, focused on digital transformation, facilities, registrations and the expansion of international business to new markets such as the U.S. and China.
The company also plans to consolidate its line of microorganisms and to create new developments within the families of biostimulants, botanical extracts and new specialty products. ●
AMVAC has established a GreenSolutions product team dedicated to its biological portfolio, which consists of biopesticides, biostimulants and biofertilizers. On the heels of that, AMVAC announced the launch of AMVAC Academy, a new online learning management system (LMS) for continuing education and training in agriculture.
Located at AMVACAcademy.com, the new online learning management system features self-guided detailed learning modules across a range of agronomic and horticulture topics, and includes a GreenSolutions course category. Most modules conclude with self-guided quizzes which allow users to test their knowledge of the subject matter reviewed, log their test scores as they advance through modules and subject areas, and provide proof of participation.
Also in the works are opportunities to earn continuing education units for accreditations including Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) and state-specific pesticide application licenses such as California’s Pest Control Advisors (PCAs).
Meanwhile, the GreenSolutions product team is developing and marketing GreenSolutions technologies, and is led by Ted Walter, U.S. GreenSolutions marketing manager at AMVAC. Three GreenSolutions marketing development managers – Dennis Riley, Julio Lozano, and Kyle Coleman – are individually responsible for marketing efforts in the Midwest, Southeast, and Western regions, respectively.
AMVAC operates two North American biological manufacturing facilities, including a microbial fermentation manufacturing plant in Clackamas, Oregon, and a biostimulant plant in Sonora, Mexico. ●
Valent BioSciences LLC has begun selling biostimulant products directly to its U.S. customer, following the established of its new biostimulant operating unit in February 2022.
The new biostimulant business team and salesforce are focused on discovering, developing and commercializing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) products, among other biostimulants, to sustainably maximize retailer and grower profitability.
The core Valent BioSciences biostimulant products are being marketed under the Symvado and Proliant brand names. The team is employing a variety of newly created tools and digital assets to support commercialization of these brands in the U.S. market.
“We recognize that biostimulants can be challenging products for customers to successfully utilize, so we are adapting our strategy to best address customer needs and drive value for all parties,” said Dave Schumacher, vice president of commercial pperations for Valent BioSciences.
The new biostimulants business at Valent BioSciences includes numerous technical experts who are available to help retailers and growers navigate this complex market segment. ●
A research center dedicated to biostimulants and special fertilisers in the heart of the Roero region: the Greenhas Research Center, inaugurated a few days ago, was born both out of the Greenhas Group's desire to dedicate a site to research and the development of new formulations for plant nutrition, and to create a collector of ideas and collaborations with companies, universities and other research centers around the world.
The brand new structure, located next to the Group's headquarters in Canale (Cuneo, Italy), is characterised by an accurate architectural study inspired by the plant world and hosts three research units and an experimental station, specifically: the microbiology unit for the isolation, selection and stabilisation of microorganisms naturally present in the soil to be used in biostimulants, the two plant chemistry and physiology units, dedicated respectively to the formulation and characterisation of innovative products and the study that these induce on agricultural crops at a physiological and biological level. The experimental station has the task of selecting the most agronomically effective products using tests in growth chambers, greenhouses andopen fields.The technologies of the new Research Center, combined with the technical and scientific skills of the many researchers already working there, will be used to identify new fertilisers and biostimulants, also derived from food by-products, capable of helping plants both to cope with the criticalities of climate change and to improve production performance by using fewer inputs, such as nutrients and pesticides.In order to be able to concretely test the potential of the different products, Maia, the Group's farm, has been operational since 2016, where the Research Center operators test the formulations resulting from their work."Biostimulants represent the new frontier in terms of the circular economy for us," said Lorenzo Gallo, vice-president of the Greenhas Group, during the inauguration ceremony, "but also effective solutions to help farmers continue to make income in a scenario of growing climatic stress and EU policies increasingly focused on sustainability."Our research and development activity is oriented towards all-round collaboration," addedValeria Contartese, R&D director of the Greenhas Group, "both with universities and test centers, and with the realities of the territory, with the aim of responding to different levels of needs."The aim of our company since its foundation in 1985," highlighted President Giuseppe Gonella, "has been to anticipate the needs of agriculture by giving more strength to crops and more fertility to the soil while fully respecting the environment. A vision that is more relevant today than ever before'.The inauguration was also attended by Stefano Mancuso, essayist and lecturer in arboriculture and plant ethology at the University of Florence: 'The technologies that will help plants mitigate the effects of climate change,' he said during his speech, 'will be increasingly strategic in the future and in this sense biostimulants, obtained from the plants themselves or in any case with rewarding systems for the circular economy, will play a very important role, that is, to allow us to increase production without using more agricultural land. ●Published inL'Informatore Agrario n. 34/2022Author: Lorenzo Andreotti
www.greenhasgroup.com
Photo: G. Galleano 2022
As I settle down in early November 2022 to write this update on recent regulatory developments in the United States (U.S.) related to plant biostimulants, the fact is that I’ve been intending to do this for almost two years – and for almost two years I’ve been waiting on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release its long-awaited final guidance on regulation of plant regulators (or plant growth regulators – PGRs). If implemented by EPA, the plant regulator guidance would have significant impact on the regulatory status of a subset of plant biostimulants, and would provide welcome clarity to the regulated community of plant biostimulants product developers and producers. (I should probably caveat that statement to the effect that certain aspects of the plant regulator guidance would provide “welcome” clarity to the regulated community. Depending on how the final guidance is crafted, there also could be aspects that will provide unwelcome clarity to the plant biostimulants regulatory sphere.)
Notwithstanding, however, the ongoing delay in release of the final plant regulator guidance by EPA, there have been other important regulatory developments impacting the plant biostimulants market both in the U.S. and in Europe, and these deserve discussion. If, subsequent to the publication of this article, EPA does in fact release its plant regulator guidance, I’ll return with a piece focused entirely on the final guidance and the likely implications that it will hold for the development and marketing of plant biostimulants in the U.S.
So, first, setting context, what exactly are plant biostimulants? Actually, there is only one definition of plant biostimulants that has been enacted into law. But there are numerous definitions that have been proposed or utilized by various regulatory agencies. Representative examples of such definitions include:
“... a naturally-occurring substance or microbe that is used either by itself or in combination with other naturally-occurring substances or microbes for the purpose of stimulating natural processes in plants or in the soil in order to ... improve nutrient and/or water use efficiency by plants, help plants tolerate abiotic stress, or improve the physical, chemical, and/or biological characteristics of the soil as a medium for plant growth.” (1)
“A plant biostimulant is a substance(s), microorganism(s), or mixtures thereof, that, when applied to seeds, plants, the rhizosphere, soil or other growth media, act to support a plant’s natural nutrition processes independently of the biostimulant’s nutrient content. The plant biostimulant thereby improves nutrient availability, uptake or use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and consequent growth, development, quality or yield.” (2)
“A plant biostimulant is a naturally-occurring substance, its synthetically derived equivalent, or a microbe that is used for the purpose of stimulating natural processes in plants or in the soil in order to, among other things: improve nutrient and/or water use efficiency by plants, help plants tolerate abiotic stress, or improve characteristics of the soil as a medium for plant growth. The characteristics may be physical, chemical, and/or biological. The plant biostimulant may be used either by itself or in combination with other substances or microbes for this purpose.” (3)
“The term ‘plant biostimulant’ means a substance, micro-organism, or mixture thereof, that, when applied to seeds, plants, the rhizosphere, soil, or other growth media, act to support a plant’s natural processes independently of the biostimulant’s nutrient content, including by improving nutrient availability, uptake or use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and consequent growth, development, quality, or yield.” (4)
The only definition that has lawfully been adopted for actual regulatory purposes:
“Plant biostimulant means a product stimulating plant nutrition processes independently of the product’s nutrient content with the sole aim of improving one or more of the following characteristics of the plant or the plant rhizosphere: (a) nutrient use efficiency; (b) tolerance to abiotic stress; (c) quality traits; (d) availability of confined nutrients in soil or rhizosphere.” (5)
An interesting aspect of these various alternative definitions is that, while they describe differently what plant biostimulants are (e.g., they are naturally occurring substances, or they could be synthetic analogues of natural substances; they are “substances” and/or microbes or microorganisms, or they are “products”), they are consistent in what plant biostimulants do – they enhance generally nutrient and water use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and nutrient uptake of plants, by ‘stimulating or supporting’ “natural (nutrition) processes”.
In any event, the primary regulatory conundrum that applies to these useful and beneficial substances is that, as a result of a decades-old amendment to the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), in the U.S. a subset of plant biostimulants are regulated as pesticides, i.e., they are subject to the same regulatory requirements as are substances that are intended to “prevent, repel, destroy, or mitigate” pests or weeds. To some, this regulatory categorization imposes unnecessary and burdensome requirements on substances that are typically of low toxicological and ecological risks. And this is the circumstance that EPA’s long-delayed draft regulatory guidance on plant regulators promises to address. (6)
Under FIFRA, “pesticide” is defined as, in pertinent part, “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest,” or “any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant”. Of relevance here, “plant regulator” is defined, in pertinent part, as “any substance or mixture of substances intended, through physiological action, for accelerating or retarding the rate of growth or rate of maturation, or for otherwise altering the behavior of plants or the produce thereof ...”. Therefore, a substance that is intended to alter the rate of growth or maturation of plants, or to alter the “behaviour of plants” is a plant regulator subject to regulation in the U.S. as a pesticide. The definition of plant regulator, however, expressly excludes certain plant nutrient
substances and certain plant vitamin and hormone products. Therefore, EPA’s draft plant regulator guidance purported to clarify the scope of its regulation of plant regulators by identifying product claims that EPA would consider to be plant nutrient claims versus plant regulator claims. Over the course of almost two years EPA produced two versions of its draft plant regulator guidance and accepted public comment on both versions; now, almost two years from the close of the last public comment period, EPA still has not produced the final version of its guidance.
With this as backdrop, on May 12, 2022, Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Jim Baird introduced H.R. 7752, the Plant Biostimulant Act of 2022, to amend FIFRA to remove plant biostimulants from its regulatory purview by (1) excluding plant biostimulants from FIFRA regulation, and (2) adding the following definition of “plant biostimulant” to FIFRA: “a substance, micro-organism, or mixture thereof, that, when applied to seeds, plants, the rhizosphere, soil, or other growth media, act to support a plant’s natural processes independently of the biostimulant’s nutrient content, including by improving nutrient availability, uptake or use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and consequent growth, development, quality, or yield.”H.R. 7752 would exclude plant biostimulants from regulation as pesticides by amending FIFRA to include the following provision: “A plant biostimulant shall not be subject to regulation under this Act.”
Therefore, any substance falling within the definition of plant biostimulant would be precluded by law from being regulated as a pesticide.
While it is unlikely that the Plant Biostimulant Act of 2022 will pass in the current Congress, it serves as a useful marker for the next. That said, if enacted into law in the current Congress, or the next (or the next...), the Plant Biostimulant Act would render moot the impact of EPA’s plant regulator guidance on plant biostimulants, as it would require EPA to amend its regulations to give binding effect to the exclusion and the new definitions provisions of the Act (as opposed to the non-binding effect of any guidance that EPA may issue).
I would welcome this useful updating of FIFRA’s regulatory scope. As a matter of principle, I am opposed to statutory requirements that are ambiguous, confusing, and of questionable utility. The fact that certain plant biostimulants are subject to regulation as pesticides in the U.S. is regularly misunderstood. I have had members of the audience come up to me after presentations at three separate conferences this year to say that they had no idea that there are plant biostimulants that are regulated as “pesticides.” Moreover, I was recently in the audience at a conference where a presentation was given that made unambiguous plant regulator claims for a product, and when I queried if the product developer had initiated the pesticide registration process, the answer was “this product is not an insecticide, fungicide, or herbicide, so it’s not required to be registered as a pesticide.” Regulatory confusion of this sort is just not good policy. Confusing, illogical, and unclear regulatory requirements are flawed regulatory requirements. Moreover, 63 years on, it is well past the time that the inclusion of plant regulators in the statutory definition of “pesticide” should be limited in a rational manner to relieve plant biostimulant product developers and producers of unnecessary and potentially onerous regulatory burden.
Finally, it also bears notice that the European Union has implemented legislation that defines and regulates plant biostimulant prodcuts as plant nutrient substances, which should serve as a useful example for the U.S. to follow.
Keith Matthews has practiced environmental law focusing on the regulation of chemicals, biopesticides and genetically engineered organisms for over 20 years. He has practiced in the private sector, and for over 13 years was a staff attorney and assistant general counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He then served for four years as the director of the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) in EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). Today, Matthews is Counsel with Wiley Rein LLP, and his practice focuses on the regulation of chemical products, including biotechnology products regulated by EPA and USDA.
[1] U.S. EPA’s Initial Draft Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claims (March 2019).
[2] USDA’ s 2019 Report on Plant Biostimulants Alternative Definition 1 (Dec. 2019)
[3] USDA’ s 2019 Report on Plant Biostimulants Alternative Definition 2 (Dec. 2019).
[4] Definition included in a bill submitted in the United States House of Representatives as “The Plant Biostimulant Act of 2022” (May 2022).
[5] Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Art. 47 (05 June 2019), establishing Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009, Art. 3, 34
[6] By making clear what product claims will definitely subject a plant biostimulant product to regulation as a pesticide, and what claims can be made for products that will not be regulated as pesticides ●
Keith Matthews, Counsel with Wiley Rein LLP
Over the course of almost two years EPA produced two versions of its draft plant regulator guidance and accepted public comment on both versions.