AgSmart Corporation to introduce futuristic nanotechnology products to Philippines agriculture

Date:08-24-2021

AgSmart Corporation Philippines has partnered in a sole and exclusive agreement with a leading Taiwanese nanotechnology company and is going to introduce the latest cutting-edge futuristic nanotechnology products to Filipino farmers, including the Banana and Pineapple Plantations.

Nanotechnology, having applications in many fields, is poised to dramatically impact agriculture by improving efficiency of products resulting in higher productivity and quality of crop production. It will consequently improve farmers’ income and augment food supply at the same time lowering the strain to the environment during crop production.

Nanotechnology is the science where particle size is reduced to nanoscale size whereby the particles acquire properties empowering them with unprecedented power and precision unleashing the untapped potential of the active elements to provide tremendous benefits.  Simply imagined, the surface area of a pack of nanoscale particles would be enormous compared to the same mass of a single large-scale object.

In order to increase efficiency of products and simultaneously lower unnecessary environmental load, farmers need to have access to products that are absorbed immediately into the plant without waste, and then rapidly reach those parts of the plant where the activity of the elements are needed i.e., roots, leaves, flowers and fruits.  As per a study conducted in Taiwan, it was noted that nanoscale particles showed 13 times higher absorption compared to the normal particle-sized fertilizer and showed higher efficacy under lower concentration versus standard products.

AgSmart Corporation Philippines after having completed the registration process, is offering two specialty products; one for foliar nutrition, and the other for soil amendment.

Foliar nutrition

The first product is a liquid foliar nutrition product which contains the key essential nutritional elements, Silicon and Calcium reduced to the tiniest nanoscale size.  The particle size is so small that in an easy-to-understand representation it could be imagined as 1000 times tinier than the width of a single strand of human hair. From a crop production perspective, simply put, the Silicon and Calcium nanoscale particle size is smaller than the stoma of the plant and this translates to rapid absorption (Figure 1).

Figure 1: A stoma is an opening of a plant found in the epidermis of leaves and stems of the plant. Pictured above is a comparison of its size versus a nano-sized calcium carbonate particle.

The proprietary nanotechnology used to manufacture the liquid foliar nutrition product increases the surface area of the nanoscale Silicon and Calcium particles improving their adherence to the sprayed foliage surface and thereby reducing waste by immediate absorption into the plant followed by rapid translocation within the plant reaching leaves, flowers and fruits.

The product also contains Nitrogen and Potassium.  Nitrogen is available in both Ammonium and Nitrate where the Nitrate form of Nitrogen is readily available for plants to absorb.

This is the first-ever product in the world to combine Calcium, Silicon in nanoscale with Nitrogen and Potassium, all of which elements are readily available to the plant.  The product’s ideal composition promotes wholesome plant health resulting in a strong shoot and root system, increased flowering and fruiting, reduced flower and fruit drop, excellent fruit development, increased resistance to biotic as well as abiotic stresses which eventually result in high quality and increased yield production.

Based on the feedback during trials and tests, the product is also showing interesting performances in reducing the impact of damage from insect-pests and diseases on different crops.

The product also has the potential to be used in Banana Black Sigatoka spray programs.

Soil amendment

The second product is a Calcium powder for acidic soil modification which increases productivity and raises soil vitality.  Acidic soil increases the amount of Aluminum, which is toxic to plants.  Calcium ions in soil can modify the aggregation of soil and increase air permeability.

Pineapple Plantations commonly use Calcium products such as Dolomite and Limestone.

The Calcium powder product is sourced from Calcium hydroxide, which has higher neutralization ability compared to other soil modification products, such as Dolomite and Limestone.  The higher neutralization ability of Calcium hydroxide also means lower dosage rate compared to other products.

Calcium hydroxide per se is fast-acting for acidity modification, and additionally, the powder is finely ground which further increases its fast-action.  It also enhances the decomposition of organic substances, accelerates the transition from organic nitrogen to inorganic plant-absorbable nitrogen thereby increasing the soil fertility.  Moreover, it has strong base properties, which can exterminate pathogens and pests from the soil that threaten plant health.

Both products are expected to be available in the market this September 2021.

AgSmart Corporation email contact: agsmartinquiry@gmail.com