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Editor's Note: "Acadian’s seaweed extract is proven to stimulate plant physiology, improving crop resiliency under stress and improve productivity. Studies from the company show improved soil and root health, which can contribute to increased carbon sequestration, a much-needed tool in safeguarding against the effects of a changing climate. Acadian’s extensive access to the majority of Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed beds around the world means a steady, secure supply to global partners with large portfolios," said James Maude, Senior Vice President, Acadian Plant Health in a recent interview with AgroPages.
He also shared his views on the Acadian Plant Health's core competitiveness; product lines and special features; R&D, technology and production facilities; the challenges of biostimulant formulation and countermeasures, as well as business mode etc.
Can you introduce Acadian Plant Health (APH) and core competitiveness?
Acadian Plant Health™ is a division of Acadian Seaplants Limited and has been operating for the past 40 years. Acadian Plant Health™ is the world leader in seaweed extract biostimulant solutions, sustainably sourced, and scientifically proven to improve crop resiliency and crop productivity. Acadian’s products are used in soil and foliar inputs on over 70 crops in more than 80 countries world-wide. Our technology has functionality in both nutrient use efficiency and abiotic stress mitigation.
Acadian’s seaweed extract is proven to stimulate plant physiology, improving crop resiliency under stress and improve productivity. Studies from the company show improved soil and root health, which can contribute to increased carbon sequestration, a much-needed tool in safeguarding against the effects of a changing climate. Acadian’s extensive access to the majority of Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed beds around the world means a steady, secure supply to global partners with large portfolios.
Our company continues to build on its offering to remain in lock step with an evolving market. It is pursuing this through a combination of strategic hires, which include leadership appointments with top-tier global crop protection company expertise, in addition to the opening of a new Malvern, U.K Formulation Centre of Excellence in December 2021, which allows Acadian Plant Health™ to optimize formulations and develop consistent, stable formulations with longer shelf life and optimal blendability to meet the needs of crop protection companies.
Can you introduce APH’s product lines and special features, mode of action, and their innovation and application in crops?
Acadian Plant Health is focused on improving the resiliency of crops and improving productivity. With the advent of extreme climate events due to climate change, the ability to have products that can improve resiliency for a crop is paramount and is putting biostimulants, such as ours, as key drivers in crop input production. Our research shows that our extract technology interacts with the plant to stimulate the plants natural defense to abiotic stressors (drought and heat, frost, salinity, and flooding). With optimized formulations we can target the crop at vulnerable development stages and help the crop remain productive through stress periods.
With respect to mode of action – we have done extensive research to understand the mode of action within our seaweed extract. Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy we can see our Aschophyllum nodosum produces a distinct signature, where with other seaweed extracts this is not the case. With our unique extraction process we are able to see Mannitol, Alginic Acid and Fucoidans carbohydrates that help support the plant throughout its life cycle. The unique levels of these carbohydrates, and other bio-actives that are uncovered in our extraction process, is what makes Acadian seaweed extracts unique. Acadian Aschophyllum nodosum extract supports plants with enhanced rooting, plant establishment, improved nutritional uptake, tolerance to stress and improved yield and quality. Overall improving the survivability of the plant and its productivity. In addition to this, we are able to prove that our extracts are remarkably consistent from batch to batch, month over month, year over year. Something most biostimulant companies cannot prove or claim.
Could you introduce APH’s R&D, technology and production facilities and relevant capabilities?
Acadian Plant Health has continuously invested in R&D for the past 40 years. This included building new production facilities and labs to ensure the company remains a leader in the biostimulant industry.
For R&D we have the Dr. James Craigie R&D Centre, Cornwallis, Canada 30,000 ft2 (2,790 m2) facility comprised of laboratories, greenhouses and experimental field trials, as well as the Formulation Centre of Excellence, Malvern, UK which expands on existing formulation capabilities to support new business growth, including novel and proprietary formulations for global business partners. Additionally we have:
Research: Team of 13 scientists and 5 cooperative students for Proof-of-Concept screening and Mode of Action validation
Formulation: 5 scientists located in Canada & Europe + formulation development alliance with local experts
Development: 7 Dedicated Global Field Development and Technical Managers
Registration: 5 scientists supporting global registrations
Acadian has 5 manufacturing and production facilities focused around key harvesting areas, including Canada, Scotland and Ireland.
What are the challenges of biostimulant formulation and countermeasures? Could you share some innovation formulation technologies? What do you think of the role of adjuvants in biostimulant development?
The principles of formulation development are the same for a biostimulant formulation as they are for a crop protection formulation. Formulation development begins with a clear understanding of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the active ingredient(s) which for a biostimulant could include seaweed extracts, hydroloysed proteins, microorganisms etc. Knowing these key parameters will give an indication of the formulation type to be designed. The application of formulation science to design a high performing, optimised formulation with consistently high quality properties is essential for the target crop(s) and market. Development of a biostimulant formulation can include the use of surfactants for example, wetting and dispersing agents plus other formulation excipients such as fillers, adhesion aids, colourants, rheological aids, structuring agents, antifreeze, antifoam and preservatives etc. The challenge of biostimulant formulation is to optimise the formulation ingredients to stabilise the active ingredient(s) to remove undesirable formulation properties and produce a formulation that has the optimum physical, chemical, biological and application properties for the target crop(s), is easily registered, safe to the crop, safe to manufacture and use, compatible with other agricultural inputs, has good shelf life, is easy to transport and store and is cost effective with sustainable supply. The countermeasure for this challenge is to apply innovative formulation science and technology to achieve the desired end product. The focus at Acadian Plant Health is to optimize existing formulations and develop new novel, proprietary formulations that meet the standards of premium crop protection products.
Innovative formulation technologies are used in the development of biostimulant formulations to ensure that effective and safe products are placed on the market. Acadian Plant Health employs a rigorous high throughput screening process for proof-of-concept. Formulation innovation leads to development of prototype novel formulations, using carefully selected formulation excipients, which are tested thoroughly to confirm efficacy. A clear formulation design plan is used to capture the desired formulation specifications and label claims. Formulations are optimised to have robust physical and chemical properties with qualified shelf life and high-quality performance. A key area of focus is the development of innovative formulations that are compatible with and complement the use of crop protection and fertiliser products.
Adjuvants can be used as an additive to a spray tank (tank mix adjuvant) or built into the formulation (built-in/in-can adjuvant), with the function of enhancing biological activity and improving formulation performance. They can include, for example, surfactants, oil-based adjuvants, spray adjuvants, compatibility aids and drift retardants. Different adjuvant types provide a number of benefits through processes such as spray formation and retention, wetting and deposit formation and uptake. The role of adjuvants in biostimulant development can be related to the need for enhanced performance of the formulation and common agricultural practice used in a country or region. Adjuvants carry an additional cost hence it is important to demonstrate the added value and benefit to the end user. The legislation around regulation of adjuvants varies by country and can lead to undesired registration complexity. The key to using adjuvants in biostimulant formulation development is to understand the behaviour of the product without an adjuvant and to define the performance improvement needed. Characterisation and testing of tank mix and in-built adjuvants is then essential to provide an understanding of the adjuvancy effect on the biostimulant formulation before moving into field trials to confirm efficacy.
What are the business mode and criteria in choosing partners? What are the plans to develop new markets?
Historically, Acadian Plant Health was focused on a B2C structure, supplying directly to distributors, retailers or even growers around the world. Moving forward, Acadian is focused on pursuing B2B partnerships with companies that are interested in collaborating to distribute or formulate our biostimulant with their products. This could be with crop protection companies who are looking for more sustainable options in their portfolios, large fertilizer companies or formulators who are looking to add more technical ingredients into their product lines.
How can biostimulants be used to give the best returns, for instance, right climatic conditions, equipment or technology support, or any other specific requirement for use of these products?
Different from crop protection and fertilizer products, biostimulants optimize natural processes in plants. The stimulation of these natural processes increases nutrient use efficiency (including helping plants access nutrients in the soil), improves plant tolerance to abiotic stresses like extreme temperatures and drought, and improves harvest quality. They are defined by the function they provide.
In field trials, our biostimulants performed the best when the crop was under stress (drought, heat, frost, salinity, flooding) – which when it comes to agriculture these stressors can be hard to avoid.
Acadian Plant Health products are complimentary to fertilizer and crop protection products and can be used alongside in soil or foliar use with no compromise to current applications. There is no special equipment required – our seaweed extracts have excellent tank mixability.
What do you think of the market prospects of biostimulants in different market regions? Americas (North & South) is a big market and the shift from conventional to Bio-Agriculture is evident. How do you see the emerging markets like the Asian market, especially the booming Chinese market? What is the development plan of APH in the Chinese market?
Volatile weather conditions continue to affect plant survivability and crop yield, will losses related to climate stress increasingly felt by growers around the world. The Americas are no different. As well, we’re seeing mounting public desire to see the crop protection market switch to more sustainable solutions. For example, the EU is calling for a reduction by 50% of the use and risk of chemical pesticides, along with 20% reduction in fertilizers by 2030. In the Americas, we’re seeing Global agri-business exploring how biostimulants may fit into a crop production system. We are stepping up to meet this demand and looking for opportunities for closer alignment with agriculture company portfolios. In fact, we’ve recently invested even more in resources and development to ensure Acadian Plant Health is set up to meet the needs of our customers, including the recent opening of our new Formulation Centre of Excellent lab in Malvern, UK.
For the Chinese market specifically, we are heavily investing in this region with a new organizational structure that provides marketing, technical and regulatory expertise to ensure we provide professional support to our existing and future business partners. We are also investing in new registration of our core products that will be completed and launched this year. We are dedicated to providing the best service possible to a fragmented Chinese market.
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