The Rising Price of Fertilizers, Environmental Impact, and Effective Biological Alternatives

By ASFERTGLOBAL

Not only is the increasing prices of all factors of production a concern, but also the environmental problem associated with the excessive use of conventional fertilizers.

The excessive use of nutrients, especially Nitrogen and Phosphorus, has become a form of pollution, damaging ecosystems. Almost 80% of the Nitrogen used in fertilizers is lost to the environment through soil erosion, leaching, atmospheric conversion, and other forms of waste, causing a decline in the quality not only of the soil, but also of the water. Similar effects on soil and water quality occur with intensive application of Phosphorus, where 70 to 90% quickly becomes unavailable to plants. Thus, part of the Phosphorus accumulates in the soil, changing the pH, the ion exchange capacity, the diversity and functionality of the microbiome, and can also be lost to the environment.

The leached fertilizers will deposit in the groundwater and enter the waterways, causing the proliferation of toxic algae - cyanobacteria - which in turn trigger the darkening of deeper waters with the consequent death of the Posidonia sp. and Caulerpa sp. communities that provide oxygen to the water. The presence of toxins and the limitation of oxygen in the water negatively affects the entire trophic chain, including fish.

Examples of this climatic disaster are Lake Atitlán in Guatemala and the Mar Menor in Spain, where excess Nitrogen and Phosphorus are causing the proliferation of cyanobacteria and consequent deterioration of water quality.

One of the solutions to these problems is the use of new methods of nutrient supply, such as the use of microorganism-based biofertilizers that make nutrients bioavailable to the root system without the need to apply synthetic fertilizers.

In recent years, Asfertglobal together with the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon has developed solutions based on Nitrogen fixing and Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria that help plants obtain macronutrients essential to their nutrition, without any danger or pollution to the environment. Kiplant All Grip is composed of a microbial consortium - Bacillus megaterium, BS1 strain (CECT 30400) - 33.3%; Pseudomonas fluorescens, BS2 strain (CECT 30401) - 33.3%; Pseudomonas putida, BS3 strain (CECT 30402) - 33.3% - that contributes decisively to the solubilization of Phosphorus present in the soil and above all to the production of indole acetic acid, keeping the root system in constant growth. In addition, Kiplant All Grip increases the presence of beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere (including mycorrhizae), resulting in better control of pathogenic microorganisms.

During the fermentation process of Kiplant All-Grip, secondary metabolites are produced that have a direct action on crop growth and productivity, with consistent results in a wide variety of soils, thus allowing an effective reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers.

The efficacy of this product has been highly tested, and we present here the results of two trials conducted by Anadiag and Solvitae (Certified Testing Companies).

Effectiveness of Kiplant All-Grip on cucumber production

The trial was conducted in the Montemor-o-Velho region - Portugal, in a cucumber greenhouse of the Arianne var. 

Kiplant All-Grip was applied by fertigation at doses of 3 l/ha, 6 l/ha and 12 l/ha, divided into two applications made on 31/08 and 14/09/2017. As control were considered untreated plants inserted in the trial.

Graf.1 – Total Production

The production where Kiplant All-Grip was applied in doses of 3, 6 and 12 l/ha is statistically superior to the control plots. And the plots where Kiplant All-Grip was applied at a dose of 6 and 12 l/ha show a statistically higher yield than the plots where Kiplant All-Grip was applied at a dose of 3 l/ha.

Effectiveness of Kiplant All Grip on yield and soil microbial community enhancement in greenhouse tomatoes

The trial was conducted in a greenhouse, in the Torres Vedras region, Portugal, var. Reconquista x Maxifort with tomato plants installed on the ground. Treatments were performed at 3 l/ha, 6 l/ha and 12 l/ha of Allgrip, divided into two applications.

Graf.2 – Total community of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil

Graf.3 – Tomato yield (ton/ha)

The increase in mycorrhizal fungi was reflected in the yield of the crop, with a 22% increase in harvest.

For more information: www.asfertglobal.com

This article was initially published in the magazine 2022 Biologicals Special.