Novonesis announces new strain of Azospirillum for the 2024/25 crop season

The multinational bio-input company Novonesis has announced exclusively to AgroPages that the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Supply (Mapa) has approved the new strains of the beneficial bacterium Azospirillum brasilense HM 053 and HM 210. According to the manufacturer, the HM 210 strain will be included in Novonesis' portfolio of biological inoculants for soybeans.

The new biosolutions were developed with the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and the National Association of Producers and Importers of Inoculants (ANPII). The company will make the HM 210 strain available, for now, through AzoMax Plus, a new product designed for soybean seed treatment that is already available for the 2024/25 crop season.

Fernando Bonafé Sei, agronomist and technical manager at Novonesis, explained that Azospirillum brasilense is an excellent Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) tool. He explained that Azospirillum is a bacterium capable of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere, as it produces the enzyme nitrogenase, which is responsible for the biological process.

"The new strains have shown greater potential for biological fixation due to the high production capacity of the nitrogenase enzyme compared to those already used in the Brazilian market," he notes. The technical manager added that inoculation with Azospirillum can represent an extra nitrogen source for soybean and corn crops. 

The agronomist further stated that using Azospirillum, combined with traditional Bradyrhizobium-based microorganisms (Coinoculation), can result in an average increase of 16% in soybean productivity. Fernando emphasized that the two new strains expand the range of choices for producers who can, through field studies, choose the strain that best adapts to the soil. "For those who opt to use these microorganisms, Azospirillum should be used during seed treatment."

Fernando reinforced that some studies show that Azospirillum also has positive effects when inoculated via spraying in the early stages of crop development, which could be another option for the producer in the future.

The commercialization of biological inputs reached US$827 million in the 2022/23 crop season. This corresponds to an increase of 52% compared to the 2021/22 cycle ($547 million), according to research by the consultancy Kynetec, based on field surveys and direct contacts with farmers.

The research was validated by ANPII, which estimates that the growth is expected to continue. If the estimates are confirmed, advances in bio-inputs are expected to maintain a strong pace, especially with the forecast of high production in the 2023/24 crop season.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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