Overseas
Most agricultural cities in the US, Russia, Canada and other countries are grown using mineral fertilizers. A significant part of them is nitrogen fertilizers. Without them, the yield of many agricultural culfates decreases by 30, and sometimes 50%. But increasingly, the effect of applying fertilizers is compared with negative impact on nature. For example, it is estimated that the annual production of nitrogen fertilizers only in the United States is accompanied by emissions equal to exhaust gases of two million cars. And harmful emissions in the production process are not all negative consequences.Systematic and massive use of nitrogen fertilizers for agricultural crops inexorably leads to a violation of the rotation of nutrients in a natural environment. And this is already noticeable in the regions of intensive farming.
In the first years of "boom of fertilizers", microbiological processes in the soil accelerated, the productivity of plants increased. But the agrochemical analyzes of the soil showed that the initial intensification of biological processes quickly changed to the destruction of the organic substance of the soil. Nitrogen fertilizers lost their effectiveness, since the amide and ammonia forms of fertilizers turned into nitrates followed by washing into groundwater and rivers. In addition to unproductive losses of nitrogen, harmful emissions, another dangerous symptom manifested itself: degraded the microbiota soil. In such a situation, an even greater number of fertilizers make no sense - the costs are growing, and the yield of crops decreases.
It became obvious that some other approach to nutrition nutrition is required. Search, the introduction and commercialization of such solutions will be determined by tomorrow agribusiness.
Useful microbes
Plants are not able to absorb nitrogen from the air. But this is perfectly able to make microbes - endophytes. Is it possible to "teach" agricultural culisters to independently produce nitrogen using microorganisms?
Professor Sharon Doti, a microbiologist from the University of Washington says that nature has already solved this problem. Sharon began to study willows and poplar - trees growing along the banks of rivers in soils, extremely poor nitrogen. When DTO examined the DNA endophyte trees in the laboratory - genes showed that the microbes can fix nitrogen. Scientists wondered: Is it possible to use endophytes for agriculture? Researchers took the seedlings of crops and soaked them in the bathroom with endophytes from the poplas, and then observed the development of seedlings.
Plants with endophytes had larger roots and leaves. And some types of tomatoes and Bulgarian peppers almost doubled the number of fruits that they produced. The Sharon Doti Group believes that the study of endophytes in the inner tissues of the poplar is also promising to create microbial drugs reducing fields contaminated with touulti and heavy metals.
Although the results are promising, American researchers understand that success in the laboratory is not always confirmed in the field. In addition, it is necessary to establish industrial production of such microorganisms so that they are not expensive. Some attempts to develop useful microbes for agriculture failed because of the high costs of production.
Useful colonizers
At the end of last year, two more American companies announced the start of collaboration on the creation of new microbial products. Mosaic Company and Bioconsortia, Inc. Cooperation began on the development and production of nitrogen-fixing microbial products for corn, wheat and other major wet cultures. In the official release, representatives of the company said:"We believe that their accumulated experience and access to the market in the field of fertilizer and nutrition of crops are the ideal way to enter the market of innovative nitrogen-fixing microbial products. Our microbes will complement and expand the established business for the production of nutrients for crops Mosaic in the interests of manufacturers in all of America. "
Endophytic bacteria with which researchers work are able to settle the inner tissues of the plant, without causing its diseases and does not have a negative impact on development. Interestingly, bacterial endophytes colonize the same environmental niches as phytopathogenic microorganisms, therefore they can be considered as a potential method of biocontrol phytopathogen.
Mosaic and Bioconsortia intend to create microbial products for use in soil and processing seeds. The new product can be used separately or in combination with traditional chemicals and fertilizers. Bioconsortia researchers intend to "bring to the condition" natural spore-forming bacteria using technologies for improving strains and editing genes. Bioconsortia patented the Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) process, multi-sign screening, colonization technology, as well as an existing collection of nitrogen fixing bacteria. Within the framework of the MOSAIC agreement, the MOSAIC will receive exclusive rights to nitrogen fixation technology for major wet cultures in North and South America. Bioconsortia will retain all the rights to technology for fruits, vegetables, lawns and decorative cultures and for all types of use outside America.
Storage, Trust, Universality
Despite the active interest of many fertilizer manufacturers and agrochemicals to microbial products, expect that they will be free to be ordinary fertilizers in the near future, not worth it. Manufacturers of innovative microbial products will have to solve some more important problems. One of them is the confidence of agricultural producers with new technologies. For example, BioGro bio-breed bio-commercially derived from several strains of useful microorganisms was effective in growing rice. But farmers did not trust developing. As a result, more than half of the companies producing BioGro did not work in this business and two years.
The second problem is the conditions for storing bioproducts. Farmers prefer to buy treated seeds. They remain suitable for use even when stored for several months or years. Created bioproducts are more demanding on storage conditions and can not yet maintain their properties over a long period.
Another problem was the "narrow specialization". Unlike traditional fertilizers that can be used for any type of crops anywhere in the world, endophytes are not a universal solution. In addition, it is necessary to adapt the microbes to various climatic and environmental situations. The creators of new products understand that the positive effect directly depends on the type of agriculture, such as soil and climate. If one of the conditions does not fit - the solution will not work. The presence of pesticides or other microorganisms in the soil can also adversely affect the success of nitrogen.
In other words, there is still a lot of work, before endophytes can seriously press traditional fertilizers. But, judging by the situation, it is just a matter of time.
Larisa Yuzhaninova
In preparation of the article, NPR.org information is used, Agribusiness Global, Modern Farmer.