Stimulating organic growth in biological agriculture

Dr Minshad Ansari, Founder and CEO of Bionema Group Ltd, explains how advanced formulations can help biostimulants and biofertilisers play a greater role in biological agriculture, enabling farmers to replace chemicals with natural solutions that are good for the environment as well as the plants they are intended to nourish and support.

Feeding the world

The past century has seen the greatest population increase in known history – often attributed to advances in modern medicine, but also thanks to a revolution in farming methods. The world’s population expansion of the 20th century would not have been possible without a parallel growth in food production, and this was achieved with the use of fertilisers. So important were these agrichemicals that, across the 1900s, human population growth actually correlated with the use of phosphates as fertilizers.¹

Unfortunately, the excessive long-term use of chemical fertilisers has led to serious soil degradation, nitrogen leaching, soil compaction, reduction in soil organic matter, and loss of soil carbon. Every year, large and damaging quantities of applied fertiliser run off into waterways, or get broken down by microbes in the soil, releasing potent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These concerns, in a world now recognising an urgent need to protect our planet and its natural resources, have led to calls and global initiatives to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers worldwide.

But if chemical fertilisers were the panacea to feeding the world in the 1900s, how can famers continue to produce enough food to feed the world today, if they stop using them?

The answer lies in biological alternatives: specifically, biofertilisers and biostimulants.

What are biofertilisers and biostimulants?

These two classes of biological products are frequently grouped together, but it is important to note the differences between biofertilisers and biostimulants.

In summary:

• A biofertiliser is a substance that contains living micro-organisms which, when applied to seeds, plants or soil, colonise the rhizosphere or the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant.
  

• A biostimulant contains substances and/or microorganisms that stimulate natural plant processes, and although it may improve nutrient use, stress tolerance or other quality traits, its effect is independent of its own nutrient content.
  

In other words, a fertiliser contains nutrients and delivers them to the plant directly, while a biostimulant does not contain nutrients itself – rather, it stimulates natural processes in the plant and soil to achieve better uptake and use of nutrients.

Biofertilisers typically comprise naturally-derived microbes, while biostimulants might include seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic substances, and other natural nutrients that cover all stages of plant growth. However, despite these differences (see Table below), the use of either product should encourage and enhance all stages of plant growth.

Field trials have shown that plants grown with biostimulants have better resistance against abiotic stress (e.g., heat, drought or salt), while the root reaches more nutrients and can collect more water.  In fact, Bionema’s own glasshouse and field trials of seven newly-launch biostimulants² have shown that these products may allow farmers to cut their fertiliser use by 50%, while keeping 93% of the yields.

In support of biofertilisers’ claims for efficacy, a recent meta-analysis of 171 peer-reviewed studies³ showed quite conclusively that biofertilisers possessing nitrogen fixing and phosphorus solubilising traits, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; known for facilitating phosphorus uptake by plants), can significantly improve crop yields. However, the authors of the meta-analysis acknowledged that the effects of biofertilisers have often been inconsistent, and that this inconsistency has hindered their widespread adoption by farmers.

The reasons for this inconsistency were suggested to include soil conditions, strain identity or host genotype. However, the Bionema team believes that a further reason for historical inconsistencies with the effects of biostimulants and biofertilisers – and one that can be quite easily addressed for better effects – is a lack of consideration for the delicate microbes and other natural ingredients making up these products, which might not be sufficiently protected by poor formulation or application techniques.

Better formulation: vital to success

The bioprotection/biocontrol sector has been plagued by problems with formulation since biological products were first commercialised in the 1980s. Biological products – especially those containing microbes – are generally more ‘fragile’ than conventional chemicals. They are more susceptible to desiccation and ultra-violet light, for example.

These fragilities are not insurmountable – we just need to be sure to formulate biological products in a way that optimises their survival and integrity during storage, mixing, application and in the field. Modern technologies are offering a lot of solutions for this, and there are dozens of technologies from other industries – pharmaceuticals, for instance – that can be applied to biocontrol. For example, Bionema has developed a ground-breaking microencapsulation formulation technology platform called Incapsulex™.  This technology effectively encapsulates naturally derived microorganisms that can act as bioprotection agents, and it delivers those microbes, on target, safely and effectively.

Bionema recently completed a series of field trials of biofertilisers containing the nitrogen fixing bacteria Paenibacillus azotofixans BNL1913, Azospirillum lipoferum BNL714 and Bradyrhizobium japonicum BNL1061, and the AMF Rhizophagus irregularis BNL2414. In these trials, the bacteria were all formulated for delivery using Bionema’s novel Incapsulex™ technology platform that encapsulates the bacteria and delivers them on target, safely and effectively. As well as enhancing adhesion and increasing persistence on plant surfaces, the unique process maintains biological stability when stored at ambient temperature and creates micro-environments to retain water for spore germination.

Using this technology to protect the bacteria until they were released from the capsule at the right time for optimal efficacy, the use of all four biofertilisers, which are now available from Bionema under the BioNFix™ range and Rhizosafe™, resulted in significantly enhanced growth, and positive changes in soil organic matter content and pH, soil type and archaeological condition. These effects resulted in yield improvements as well a 40–50% reduction in synthetic fertiliser use.

A greater role

World attitudes are changing and there are growing demands for reduced chemical use in agriculture. However, if we are to maintain high yields and continue to feed an expanding world population, we need to find other, more sustainable ways to do that. Biostimulants and biofertilisers – when formulated and used correctly – offer effective, sustainable alternatives. They are well positioned to replace chemicals, providing natural solutions that are good for the environment as well as the plants they are intended to nourish and support.

As the potential benefits of these products have become more recognised, and consumer preference for organic foods has intensified, there has been growing interest in biofertilisers and biostimulants. In fact, as the overall biological agriculture market is forecast to increase at a CGAR of 13.7% over the next 5 years, the biofertilisers sector of that market is estimated to be valued at US$3.1 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$5.2 billion by 2028 at 10.9% CGAR,⁴ while biostimulants are projected to grow at a rate of 11.8%, reaching $6.2 billion by 2027.⁵

This rapid market growth reflects public concerns about the effects of chemical pesticides on human health, biodiversity and the environment, and associated demands for more natural solutions for enhancing crop yields and plant health.

Final word

Globally, we spend US$70 billion a year on poisoning the earth to protect agricultural land from pests and diseases. This practice is leading to severe consequences for our health and the environment, and it must stop.

Under our very feet, the earth provides the solutions we need to grow, nourish and protect our crops using natural methods. The global market for biological products is already growing 3.5 times faster than conventional chemicals, and as the bioprotection sector works to create and formulate more effective products for farmers to use, it is our belief at Bionema that biological agriculture solutions will become the norm.

Part of Bionema’s remit is to enlighten others to the benefits of using biologicals rather than chemicals. We are doing this by establishing ourselves as a world-leading developer of innovative formulations that deliver effective products that empower farmers to reduce the use of synthetic agrichemicals, while enhancing food security and increasing crop yields.

I dream of a future in which our agriculture system uses no chemicals at all. That might not happen in my lifetime, but I believe it is a possibility. Anyone wishing to speak to the Bionema team about the development, formulation or use of biofertilisers, biostimulants or other bioprotection products is welcome to get in touch at info@bionema.com.

References
1. Carvalho FP. Pesticides, environment, and food safety. Food and Energy Security 2017; 6:48-60. (doi.org/10.1002/fes3.108).
2. Bionema Group Ltd. Bionema stimulates organic growth with a new range of biostimulants. AgroPages, July 26, 2023 (https://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---47207.htm).
3. Schütz L, Gattinger A, Meier M et al. Improving Crop Yield and Nutrient Use Efficiency via Biofertilization—A Global Meta-analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science 2018;8 (doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.02204).
4. Markets & Markets. Biofertilizers by Type, 2023 (https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/compound-biofertilizers-customized-fertilizers-market-856).
5. Markets & Markets. Biostimulants market by active ingredient, 2022 (https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/biostimulant-market-1081.html).