Biostimulants: A natural ally against climate change in food security

Núria Sierras, Head of R&D at Plant Health, shares with us how we can effectively help to improve plant health.

 

How do you work at Plant Health?

In Plant Health's R&D, we work both externally and internally. We are always listening to the needs of farmers and the sector in general, and we use a project management system.

In projects, we start off with a product concept and, if the proof of concept works, we develop prototypes from which we test their effectiveness. First, under controlled conditions and then in the field, and for the final product candidate, we study how it performs.

In most cases we use external expertise. We work with technology centres and national and international universities in order to understand how our products work.

 

How you do help improve plant health?

By developing sustainable solutions to resist and overcome plant stress, increase crop yields and improve crop quality parameters.

Our products play an important role in fighting against climate change. They provide a more efficient use of fertilisers and more sustainable, comprehensive crop management.

 

Why do plants get stressed?

It may seem strange or odd, but plants get stressed too. Stress is the state in which a plant does not perform its physiological functions normally, which stops its growth and development and can even reduce crop productivity. In particular, plants can suffer from abiotic stress. This is the technical term used to define the type of stress that biostimulants combat.

Abiotic stress is often caused by adverse weather conditions, such as extreme temperatures and drought, which are unfortunately currently very common due to the climate crisis.

 

What are biostimulants? What is its main function?

Biostimulants refer to a very broad concept, since they are any substance and/or micro-organism whose function is to promote the natural physiological processes of plants, improving the absorption and assimilation of nutrients. They also help to combat abiotic stress, caused by adverse weather conditions, improving agronomic quality parameters. 

Perhaps it is easier to understand what a biostimulant is if we make a comparison with human health. A biostimulant is not a drug, which in plant health would be a phytosanitary, and it is not a fertiliser, which if we compare it to human health would be a food. It is more similar to a therapeutic.

 

What role do biostimulants play in improving disease resistance in plants and adverse weather conditions, and so help food security?

Biostimulants play a very important role in crop resistance in adverse weather conditions. But how? On the one hand, biostimulants intervene in the plant's physiological mechanisms in order to increase its resistance and recovery during periods of extreme temperatures and droughts, which are so frequent nowadays due to the climate crisis. They also promote the efficient use of nutrients and help to reduce the chemical load in phytosanitary treatments, ensuring their effectiveness.

 

What are the most innovative technologies you use? How are they impacting the effectiveness of these products in modern agriculture?

All our products use a technology called Enzyneer®, which preserves the biologically active form of amino acids, the L-form. Enzyneer® uses enzymes to obtain the L-α-amino acids and other bioactive compounds that act synergistically to stimulate plant physiological processes.

These compounds are proven to be effective. It has been validated with studies on the regulation of photosynthesis and nutritional efficiency, with bioassays of phytohormone-like activity and with gene expression analysis studies. Finally, Enzyneer® is different from chemical hydrolysis, which are the typical methods used to obtain amino acid-based biostimulants, and which have disadvantages compared to our technology.

These products are having a great impact on modern agriculture. Because they are natural products and due to the function they perform, they fit with the principles of a circular bioeconomy as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

What future projects are in the pipeline?

We are currently developing projects for crop biostimulation using our own technology that conditions beneficial microorganisms, ensuring greater adaptability of the strains to field conditions. 

The future projects we are working on revolve around probiotics, as well as the metabolites generated by these microorganisms, which have very interesting functionalities for plants.