Innovative inoculant launched in Brazil with two bacteria

By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages

Stoller do Brasil announced the launch of MASTERfix L Dual Force, the first inoculant in the world with the benefits of synergy between the strains of Azospirillum brasilense and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. 

The product had its registration recently approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).

“We discovered in an initial stage of the research, that the union between bacteria is not restricted only when it is in contact with the soy plant. It also happens, and in a very significant way, within a correct formulation, thus enabling the birth of a new category of inoculant,” explained Stela Cato, director of R&D at Stoller.

Stoller's R&D research showed that when compared to traditional inoculation, only with Bradyrhizobium spp., the use of MASTERfix L Dual Force provides an average increment of 3.9 bags per hectare, with a positive frequency of 84% in 19 different locations. When the comparison was in relation to traditional co-inoculation (through the supply of two different inoculants, one based on Bradyrhizobium spp. And the other based on A. brasilense), the increase was 2.4 bags per hectare, with 79% positive frequency in 14 different locations.

The project began in 2015 and went through different phases, starting with customer interviews, reaching the development of agronomic formulation and validation with several studies in the laboratory, greenhouse and in the field. To this end, partnerships were made with research institutions such as the State University of São Paulo (UNESP), the State University of Maringá (UEM), the Federal Goiano Institute (IF) and the São Paulo Agribusiness Technology Agency (APTA).

The MASTERfix L Dual Force registration process took three years, a relatively long period when compared to ordinary inoculants. This was because it is a totally innovative formulation. All strains of bacteria used are validated by institutions accredited for use in Brazil, with there being no other inoculant on the market with the same combination of strains.

The operational advantage of MASTERfix L Dual Force has some strengths that must be taken into account. “We have the facilitation of storage and transportation logistics, whether in the distribution channels or on the farm, proposing a single product. The application is also benefited by this, cutting out the dosage errors of each type of bacteria, increasing the efficiency and speed in the seed treatment operation,” Stela analyzed.

According to Stoller, a more efficient co-inoculation with the synergy in the formulation of MASTERfix L Dual Force contributes to the development of both bacteria, making them physiologically more active and with greater resistance to stress, ensuring the maximization of the Biological Fixation process Nitrogen (FBN).

Bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium is capable of supplying all the nitrogen demanded by the culture, discarding the need to use nitrogen fertilizers of mineral origin. The Azospirillum species brasilense is a beneficial free-living bacterium, which has the ability to fix and its main mode of action is to potentiate the development of plants through multiple mechanisms, among them the production of several molecules that promote plant growth.

In the presence of Azospirillum, there is a greater and faster development of the root system, mainly of root hair, which is characterized as the main site of infection by Bradyrhizobium spp. Thus, the presence of Azospirillum favors the establishment of nodulation, at an earlier stage and with a greater number of nodules, which will provide a high nitrogen fixation rate, with a significant impact on soybean productivity.

For Solon Araujo, technical consultant for the National Association of Producers and Importers of Inoculants (ANPII), the use of co-inoculation is one of the technologies present in soybean crops with the highest profitability for producers. Among the interviewees, the increase was around 16% (240 kg / ha).

“This reasoning shows a vast field for the growth of co-inoculation and the possibility of adding 6,105,000 tons of grains without changing the planting area in the country. If we take into account the low investment with the inoculant and the current price of soy, it is possible to measure the enormous gain for the sector, the generation of wealth, in addition to important aspects of sustainability that the adoption of the technique makes possible,” he explained.