INIA develops endophytic probiotics that can replace agrochemicals

Chile uses twice as many agrochemicals as the average of the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and these figures are alarming.

It is the country in this group that applies the most agrochemicals in its agricultural production systems.

To this is added the increase in the prices of fertilizers which in some cases, such as urea, exceeds 100%. On the other hand, is the existence of new and more aggressive pests and agricultural diseases, together with higher levels of contamination of water and soil worldwide.

Faced with this worrying and complex scenario and focused on proposing a sustainable alternative, researchers from INIA Quilamapu, led by the agronomist engineer Lorena Barra-Bucarei, developed the technology known as Endomix T1. It is a product based on a mixture of two strains of endophytic microorganisms (fungi) of the genus Trichoderma.

What is significant is that these can live inside the plant and, from there, provide them with multiple benefits. It is similar to what probiotics do in humans, promoting growth through various mechanisms.

Both strains of fungi comprehensively benefit some species of vegetables, such as lettuce, corn, pepper, chili, cucumber and tomato, making them more robust against some diseases. "To the extent that Endomix T1 is inoculated (supplied) at early stages of plant development, better results are obtained in promoting growth," Barra-Bucarei explained.

The INIA Quilamapu researcher and doctor in agricultural sciences added that the creation of this product is intended to facilitate its use in the field by small farmers. ″What we did was put together endophytic strains that promote growth, and we put them in a container, which in turn contains small containers with just the right doses to be used by a sprayer or back pump.″

The development of Endomix technology as a plant probiotic meant that in 2021 they were awarded the "Innovative Scientific Award", granted by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and the University of Los Andes for facilitating the use of products that contribute to the natural care of crops.

The 4th Biopesticides, Biostimulants and Novel Fertilizers International Summit (BioEx 2023) will take place on 9th & 10th March in Hangzhou, China. We are pleased to invite speakers from the commercial, research, extension, government, regulatory and farming sectors to submit your proposals and abstracts for oral presentations.