Sep 03, 2021
Biologicals — The future of sustainable agriculture
INGEVITY IN THE NEWS
Over the last decade, biological products have become one of the fastest growing segments in the agriculture industry due to increased stringent regulations and farmers’ needs for sustainable pest-resistant products in order to expand the yield of quality crops around the world1. The current global market for biological agrochemicals is over $7 billion and is growing 13-15% per year2. To better grasp this agriculture segment’s exponential growth, it’s important to understand what biological products are and how they can provide value to agricultural production.
Although biological crop protection products can take many forms, from live beneficial insects to metabolites produced by bacteria and fungi, they are commonly divided into three categories: biofertilizers, biostimulants and biological control products.
Biofertilizers are derived from microbial origin and are often symbiotic to the crops on which they grow, like traditional rhizobia, which support plant fixing of molecular nitrogen from the atmosphere. The most widely used microbes are nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solubilizing bacteria and potassium solubilizing bacteria.
Biostimulants are products that help plants reduce the impact of abiotic stress such as heat, cold, frost and drought. The most commonly used biostimulants include seaweed, amino acids, plant extracts, organic acids and microbials. Read more…
