Heat, salinity, drought… SaliCrop tackles abiotic stress trifecta with seed enhancement tech

By Elaine Watson

Demand for ‘climate smart’ crops is rising as farmers battle abiotic stressors from saline soil and drought to heat stress. But breeding new varieties is costly and time-consuming, says Israeli startup SaliCrop, which is approaching the problem from a different angle with seed treatments that can help plants thrive in tougher environments.

″The breeding approach is always there,″ SaliCrop CEO Carmit Oron told AgFunderNews. ″But when a seed company develops a new variety, it can take at least five to eight years to enter a new variety into the market. And farmers don’t like to change varieties, they’re very traditional.

″If you look at the many regions where we’re working, we’re seeing commercial varieties of tomatoes for example that have been grown for years, and getting those farmers to change is very hard. We’re offering a more rapid solution to their declining yields.

″What people like about our approach is that we can work with commercial seed varieties that are already in the market and help them perform better.″

″The greatest concerns occupying farmers today is how to maintain yields in the face of volatile and harsh climate conditions which lead to poor soil quality. More than 830 million hectares of agricultural land is now salty. Abiotic stresses are responsible for 30-50% loss of agricultural productivity worldwide.″ Dr. Sharon Devir, cofounder & chairman, SaliCrop

Activating natural mechanisms in the plant without altering its genome

Rather than introducing foreign genes, inducing mutagenesis, or editing the genetic machinery of plants using tech such as CRISPR, SaliCrop is using its understanding of genetics to activate natural stress mechanisms already in the plant.

SaliCrop intentionally exposes the seeds to controlled abiotic stressors to activate innate stress-response mechanisms enabling them to better handle periods of intense heat, prolonged dry spells, low water, and salty soil, explained Oron, who took the helm at SaliCrop in September 2021.

″We soak the seeds with a proprietary combination of up to 10 materials for 6-12 hours. We’re not using biologicals, and for regulatory purposes, it’s similar to priming [pre-soaking seeds and then drying them to improve germination rates or confer other benefits]. After we dry the seeds they are the same weight; we’re not coating them and there’s no residues on the seed, so you can call it seed enhancement rather than seed treatment. We’re making the plants healthier.″

The formulations, developed by SaliCrop’s cofounders plant biologist and former Syngenta exec Dr. Ṛcā Godbole (CSO) and agronomist Dr. Sharon Devir (investor, chairman) over the past 10 years, must be tailored to every crop and variety, said Oron.

″We highlight the dominant commercial varieties of target crops in the key markets where we want to operate. In Spain, for example, we’re working on the leading commercial varieties in processing tomatoes growing in open fields and measuring performance over three years to demonstrate that what’s working in the lab works in an open field.″

Asked about IP, she explained, ″It’s easier to write a patent on a process or machine than a formulation, and so at this stage, we’ve decided to keep the knowledge as a trade secret.″

″Plants have certain environmental stress inducible genes that act as internal alarms. When there is too much salt, or too much heat, these alarms go off and the plant enters defense mode. But often, by the time the plant reacts, it’s too late.″ Dr. Ṛcā Godbole, cofounder & CSO, SaliCrop

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