Complementary approach to biostimulation

The one of the main challenges of present agriculture is to provide enough food for growing human population and at the same time to reduce negative impact of pesticide and fertilizer use on environment. Agriculture beside industry has the highest direct impact on environment and while in industrial sector many solution limiting emissions of dangerous substances have been used (e.g. filters on chimneys or water cleaning facilities) in agriculture except for banning several most poisoning active ingredients not much so far has been done.  Leakage of fertilizers especially Nitrates and pesticide active ingredients to surface and ground water is the main issue to be solved. Human population health depends on availability of sufficient clean water and food without pesticide residues.

The use of products dedicated for professional farming which can contribute to environment protection is a need of present days. Ensuring the appropriate amount of fertilizer and limiting exposure to pesticides may be achieved through use of advanced tools called biostimulants. Finally in 2019 EU Council approved definition of biostimulants “Plant biostimulants contain substances and/or microorganisms whose function when applied to plants or to soil is to stimulate natural processes to enhance or benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress and crop quality”. It is not mentioned about biotic stress to not confuse with plant protection products mode of action. However in case of biostimulants their mode of action to biotic stress mitigation is indirect and does not really interact with pathogen or pest but makes plant stronger with better established self-defense mechanisms. Biostimulants offer a novel approach to the improvement of crucial physiological processes in plants. We can find on the market many products considered as biostimulants manufactured mainly from organic sources like seaweed, humic acids and amino acids. Those products are marketed as a remedy for very broad range of problems caused by different unfavorable growth conditions, either biotic or abiotic. INTERMAG approach to farming is focused on complementarity, which is based on precise recommendation of each of our specific biostimulants which contain unique compounds of beneficial elements: titanium, silicon and vanadium. Three biostimulants dedicated for different purposes during growing season.

TYTANIT is our first biostimulants invented in the 90s but its beneficial properties are even more important in present days then years ago. TYTANIT active ingredient is patent protected aTium compound with eco-friendly profile, safe to natural environment and operators. There are hundreds of experiments done by scientist and proved on the field by farmers on beneficial effects on different crops and in a different climate conditions. The unique feature of this biostimulants is its positive effect on flower pollen vitality, pollination and fertilization. Those effects are primarily associated with an increase in the vigor of pollen grains and their better adhesion to the surface of the stigma, and with the intensification of pollen tube development. It’s a worldwide problem of declining population of pollinating insects, therefore longer ability of flower to be pollinated is contributing to higher and better yield. Stimulating physiological processes and the uptake of nutrients supplied to plants from the soil solution, as well as those applied on leaves are extremely important during stress conditions. Better use of Nitrates in a stress condition benefits twice. Firstly plants are better fed and secondly there is no, or much lower leakage of Nitrates to the surface and ground water.

Second of our biostimulants is OPTYSIL which is based on bioavailable silicon. This product is dedicated mainly to crops which can be exposed to different abiotic and biotic stresses. Rapid climate changes associated with higher pressure of unfavorable weather condition often lead to significant losses of yield quantity and quality. At the same time climate change can stimulate higher pest and diseases pressure. Therefore stronger plants immune mechanism is crucial for limiting use of pesticides with the same, effective diseases and pests control. From the very beginning OPTYSIL has been tested by scientist and researches from independent institutes and universities for better knowledge about its activity and mode of action. In Institute of Plant Physiology of Polish Academy of Science several experiments have shown significant increase of plant tolerance to drought condition. This activity has been proved on many hectares of farm land especially on corn fields, but not only. Optysil has a unique ability to increase plant tissue firmness which is very beneficial in fruit production by making them more resistant to injury during harvest, transport and storage. On the other hand hard tissue is less attractive for different types of pests and more difficult to penetrate by pathogen’s appressorium. Excellent tank mix compatibility due to close to neutral pH distinguish this product from many others on the market. Including OPTYSIL to crop management program will benefit with higher and better yield. Due to lower pressure from pests and pathogens lower rates or fewer number of pesticide sprays can be done. 

VANADOO containing patent protected active ingredient AVADIUM is our latest achievement focused on stimulating growth of bulbs, storage roots and tubers. It’s mainly dedicated to arable crops and vegetables. After cereals and legumes root, bulb and tuber crops play an important role in food and feed production, therefore increasing yield quantity and quality without increasing application of fertilizers and crop protection products is very important as in the most of annual crops. Quality is better mainly by increasing content of sugar and proteins. Conducted trials shown yield increase of at least 15% on sugar beet and up to 50% on root celery. The unique, efficacy has been shown in numerous trials and experiments conducted by scientists as well as farmers. Liquid formulation of the product with close to neutral pH makes it compatible with most of commonly used plant protection products and others foliar applied agrochemicals. 

There is no single biostimulant solution as a remedy for “all the pain of this world” in agriculture meaning of course. Learning from mistakes is a good idea but avoiding mistakes is even better. It has been proved many times in agriculture practice that overdosing or sticking to one or two active ingredient leads in time to lower activity and in case of pesticides, selection of resistant forms. Alternate application of different compound is always recommended by experienced agronomists. Professional plant protection and fertilization quite often are not enough to achieve satisfactory yield quality and quantity. The usage of biostimulants is a need for better crop management, but biostimulants in this case must be as much professional as plant protection products and fertilizers. What we have to look for is complementarity which can be achieved by using biostimulators from different groups and mode of action. It happens quite often that on the same field specific actions have to be done on crop to reach certain goal, therefore different biostimulants tools have to be used. INTERMAG has been developing its own technology for most of the worldwide important crops by using TYTANIT, OPTYSIL and VANADOO and new biostimulants which will be even more suitable for dramatic changes in growing conditions. We are keeping in mind that we have to produce healthy food, have access to clean water and save environment for future generations.

This report was originally published in AgroPages' 2020 Biologicals Special. 

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