Biosphera Agro Solutions launches bioinoculant BioStart in Brazil

The Brazilian company Biosphera Agro Solutions has announced exclusively to AgroPages the launch of BioStart, a bioinoculant that combines Azospirillum and Pseudomonas bacteria in a single bio-solution. This innovation is positioned at the forefront of sustainability in Brazil's soybean production, offering significant environmental benefits by reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizers.

Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) is a cornerstone of this sustainable approach, with bacteria from the Azospirillum genus playing a primary role in capturing atmospheric nitrogen and transforming it into organic compounds. Building on years of research led by Embrapa Soy, the co-inoculation process was developed. This technique involves the use of the plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum at soybean planting, a bacterium previously utilized in crops such as corn, wheat, and rice.

BioStart stands out by integrating the benefits of Azospirillum brasilense strains Ab-V5 and Ab-V6 with Pseudomonas fluorescens. According to Biosphera Agro Solutions, this synergistic combination enhances plant growth by increasing nutrient availability, particularly phosphorus, and producing siderophores, which bolster plant vigor, nutrition, and root system robustness.

André Nakatani, Biosphera’s manager of research, development, and innovation, explains that the combined use of these bacteria with Bradyrhizobium improves BNF and delivers a multitude of benefits for soybeans. The integration of Azospirillum and Pseudomonas in a single package offers convenience and innovation to farmers, streamlining the planting process and reducing the need to handle multiple products.

Field studies and tests have validated BioStart's efficiency, demonstrating not only more vigorous plants but also significant yield increases. Over two consecutive harvests in various locations, areas treated with BioStart yielded an average of 72 bags per hectare, a 4-bag increase over the control areas, which yielded 68 bags per hectare.

César Kersting, Biosphera’s commercial director, emphasizes that the use of microbial consortia like BioStart aligns with the company’s commitment to sustainable agricultural practices, balanced agro-systems, and enhanced productivity. Biosphera also prides itself on its Strategic BioManagement (SBM) approach, which involves ongoing collaboration with producers for medium- and long-term monitoring to address the unique needs of each soil and crop.

"We implemented SBM because we recognize that each crop's environment and context are unique, influencing productivity and the effectiveness of management strategies," concludes Kersting.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)