RootEco – New solution from Syngenta for rhizosphere ecological management

Syngenta Group showcased its exploration in rhizosphere ecological management and soil health services at the 4th Ag Formulation & Application Technology Congress (FAT 2023), which was hosted by AgroPages last month.

Speaker Luo Sha, product development manager of Syngenta Group, revealed Syngenta’s launch of the RootEco brand and solution, aimed at ecological management of rhizosphere and soil health, based on the demand of the Chinese market.

Currently, China is in a phase of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and soil environmental issues are becoming more prominent. Soil pollution, salinization, compaction, acidification and other issues occur frequently, and soil quality and the soil environment are deteriorating rapidly, directly impacting agricultural production. At the same time, the amount of fertilizers applied to maintain soil fertility has increased every year. Inappropriate use of chemical fertilizers has led to a decline in soil organic matter, a lack of microbial species, and difficulty in achieving regulation that relies on the soil itself.

"In this context, how to ensure the sustainable use of the soil is an issue that must be faced and resolved," Luo Sha said.

In July 2022, Syngenta officially launched its innovative brand, RootEco, which complies with scientific concepts and combines chemical and biological products, to promote root growth and development by regulating the microbial environment and optimizing the physicochemical environment in the rhizosphere. Crops, therefore, have better health and increased production and efficiency. At the same time, it also encourages farmers to adopt scientific and rational fertilization and pesticide use habits, to truly combine economic, environmental and social benefits.

Specifically, RootEco's operation model can be compared to ″seeing a doctor when the crop gets sick.″ The process of developing solutions can also be compared to "diagnosis, examination and prescription." Facing farmers' known or unknown soil issues, the expert team will first conduct a comprehensive physicochemical property and microbial testing of soil samples to clarify the fundamental causes of the problems, which is equivalent to an "examination" of the human body. Secondly, the expert team will devise solutions to solve the problems based on test results and configure products accordingly, which is equivalent to a "prescription.″ ″Through accurate diagnosis and prescription, it can take effect quickly while ensuring the sustainability of the soil environment,″ Luo Sha explained.   

Since its launch, RootEco, due to the Syngenta Group's solid industrial structure and market influence, has been promoted extensively and applied in major provinces and cities in China, with a cumulative service area of over 100,000 hectares, directly benefiting 300,000 farming households. Its treatment area is expected to double in the next 5 years, forming thousands of primary stations to truly achieve industrialized operations. By then, RootEco is expected to become an important brand for rhizosphere ecological management services in China, providing important support to increase production and efficiency, as well as create a sustainable soil environment.

The effective scientific nature of RootEco has also been validated through numerous cases during the process of promotion and application. Taking cucumbers in Shouguang, Shandong Province, as an example, in soil sample testing done on land that used and did not use rhizosphere space solutions, Syngenta discovered that soil microorganisms fed with RootEco solutions showed improvement in terms of enzyme activity, beneficial microorganism vitality and other key microbial indicators, while crop yields were significantly higher. In addition to the above cases, similar effects were seen in many other economically important crops, such as tobacco and potatoes.

"These successful cases fully prove that in response to the practical requirements for the sustainable use of the soil environment and the development of modern agriculture, RootEco, launched by Syngenta, achieves significant environmental, economic and social benefits. It opens up new opportunities for agrochemical companies to actively intervene in soil health management and microbial regulation, subtly changing the positioning of participating entities in the industry, and surely promoting new trends in China's soil environmental governance and modern agricultural development," Luo Sha stated.

The topic of soil health has risen to the forefront of industry concerns in recent years, due to its significant impact on agricultural production. At the Novozymes • 5th Biopesticides, Biostimulants and Biofertilizers Summit (BioEx 2024), held on March 7 and 8 next year, a section will be dedicated to soil health. Experts and scholars will discuss the industry ecology of soil health from multiple perspectives for the audience.

If you are interested in this topic, feel free to contact us to contribute your ideas and we may invite you to speak at the conference. Christina@agropages.com