jueves, 1 de febrero de 2018

Micro-organisms will play a transcendental role in sustainable agriculture

Microorganisms have become a fundamental ally of plants in their fight against the effects of climate change and other abiotic stresses.Bioformulates with a microbial base and their effective application, a novel, technological and profitable alternative, committed to the environment.


Grupo Agrotecnología, national leader in the field of biostimulants and biopesticides, is committed to bioformulation as a final success in the application of biostimulants. One of the great challenges facing the planet, agriculture and its crops is climate change. The new adverse natural conditions require answers and innovative strategies, diligent in the medium term such as the sustainable management of irrigation and the adaptation of crops to the conditions of available humidity.

Aware of this challenge, the Agrotechnology Group seeks tools, mechanisms and solutions through research, innovation and technology to create biostimulants with a microbial base, which protect crops from lack of water and other abiotic stresses. In order to achieve a technology that is respectful with the environment, at the same time profitable, effective and sustainable. Everything points to the fact that microorganisms will play a fundamental role in it.

The microorganisms are susceptible to colonize the soil in a natural way and constitute an important part of it, so that those colonized soils with a greater number of microorganisms and a greater diversity will be healthier soils, and more compatible with our crops. The microorganisms are involved in the decomposition of organic matter and in the solubilization of nutrients, making them available to the plant and contributing strongly to their nutrition. According to Noemí Herrero, director of R + D + i of Grupo Agrotecnología, it is essential to know the plant-microorganism dialogue and the different mechanisms by which microorganisms generate tolerance in plants against abiotic stresses.

On the other hand, regarding the mechanisms of action, it is impossible to generalize when talking about a unique mechanism by which microorganisms induce tolerance to various abiotic stresses in the plant. Even among similar species the mechanisms are not the same. In many cases, it is known that certain species of microorganisms are capable of inducing tolerances, although the mechanism by which these results are achieved is still unknown. Most abiotic stresses affect plants at various levels. Stress is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species, and will negatively affect the plant, producing cell damage, metabolic toxicity, inhibition of photosynthesis or changes in hormone levels.

The weight of the formulation in the production of biostimulants with a microbial base is relevant. The latest advances in this field have made the technologies developed in this line adapt without many changes to almost any type of microbial strain. The bioformulados vary according to the type of carrier used in its preparation, can be solid or liquid and can include osmoprotectores, adherent agents, nutrients, etc., that ensure the quality of microbial inoculants, which will be in the number of viable cells present in the microorganism.

In order to face the new challenges that modern agriculture poses to us, in addition to the generation of plants resistant to different abiotic stresses, Grupo Agrotecnología is investing a large amount of economic and human resources for the creation of biostimulants with a microbial base, to protect the crops against lack of water, salinity and other abiotic stresses. One of the main challenges for the final success in the application of biostimulants apart from choosing and achieving the correct bioformulation, as indicated by the R + D + i director of Grupo Agrotecnología is "to get the application effectively to the field, to through a suitable method, regardless of whether it is solid or liquid and that it is applied directly or not to the soil or the plant ".