Use on soybean crops<\/strong> Inoculants in the form of a liquid or peat (a substrate consisting of decomposed plant matter) are mixed with the seeds on-site just before planting. Dosages vary depending on the crop\u2014for soybeans, 100 ml (liquid-based) or 100 grams (solid-based) are required for every 50 kilograms of seed. About 10% of Brazilian farmers opted to apply inoculants in-furrow in 2018 to prevent pesticides applied to the seeds from killing the bacteria.<\/p>\n Inoculants are not only cheaper than synthetic fertilizers, but are also less environmentally harmful. Chemical fertilizers quickly turn into nitrate or phosphate when placed in the soil, becoming unavailable to plants. Because nitrate is highly soluble, it is readily entrained by rainwater runoff and carried into rivers and lakes. Nitrogen fertilizers can also emit nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. These problems are absent in biological nitrogen fixation. Bacteria capture available nitrogen from the air (N2<\/sub>) and transfer it to the plant, supplying its need for the nutrient.<\/p>\n Other bacteria<\/strong> Biodiversita, a company in Jaguari\u00fana, is also investigating a set of bacteria from a range of native biomes for use as inoculants, in a project also funded by PIPE-FAPESP. On another research front, scientists are attempting to adapt a technology used in Asia for agricultural crops, by exploiting the symbiotic relationship that exists between a microorganism and an aquatic plant species. This would allow nitrogen-rich biomass to be used as a biofertilizer. \u201cThe goal is to reduce consumption of and demand for imported synthetic nitrogen fertilizers,\u201d says microbiologist Diego Bonaldo Genu\u00e1rio, a partner at Biodiversita.<\/p>\n Projects<\/strong>
\nAccording to the Brazil National Association of Inoculant Producers and Importers (ANPII), over 73 million doses of inoculants\u201487% used for soybeans\u2014were sold in Brazil in 2018, up 12% from the previous year. \u201cThis reflects increased farmer awareness about the benefits,\u201d says ANPII chairman Jos\u00e9 Roberto Pereira de Castro. \u201cTreated soybean acreage has expanded significantly in the last two crop years, from 70% to 82%, and can potentially reach as high 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn S\u00e3o Paulo, researchers are now investigating formulations with bacteria of other genera that can also reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers. C&L Biotech, a startup based in Piracicaba, received funding from FAPESP’s PIPE program to develop an inoculant formulation with free-living bacteria, or bacteria not living in symbiosis with the plant. The new formulation has the potential to reduce the requirement for soluble nitrogen fertilizers in sugarcane farming by 50%<\/a>. Crop scientist Alice de Sousa Cassetari, the startup\u2019s scientific director, says the new product has been successfully validated in a controlled environment and will be field-tested in the near future.<\/p>\n
\n1.<\/strong> Development of formulations for innovative inoculant for sugarcane containing free-living diazotrophic bacteria (n\u00ba 16\/08192-4<\/a>) Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Technological Innovation in Small Businesses (PIPE) program Principal Investigator<\/strong> Alice de Sousa Cassetari (C&L Biotech). Investment<\/strong> R$167,293.64.
\n2.<\/strong> Development of nitrogen biofertilizer from biomass of the Azolla\/Anabaena symbiotic association applied in agriculture (n\u00ba 19\/15612-8<\/a>) Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Technological Innovation in Small Businesses (PIPE) program Principal Investigator<\/strong> Diego Bonaldo Genu\u00e1rio (Biodiversita); Investment<\/strong> R$75,397.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EMBRAPA launches first Brazilian-made product formulated with microorganisms that enhance phosphorus nutrition","protected":false},"author":468,"featured_media":329494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[153,209,259],"coauthors":[778],"class_list":["post-329493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-agronomy","tag-biology","tag-chemistry","position_at_home-sumario"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329493"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":330317,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329493\/revisions\/330317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329493"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=329493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cBiomaPhos is the crowning achievement of a research project initiated 18 years ago,\u201d says microbiologist Christiane Abreu de Oliveira Paiva, of the EMBRAPA Maize and Sorghum division in Sete Lagoas, southeastern Brazil. Similar products have long been available for temperate countries like the US, Canada, and Argentina, but none developed specifically for Brazil\u2019s climate. EMBRAPA’s effort to create a dedicated inoculant for local agriculture came in response to the often-poor performance of imported inoculants designed for use in the countries where they are produced, which often differ in soil and climate from Brazil\u2019s farmland. In addition, Brazil\u2019s tropical climate means phosphorus occurs in the soil in association with chemical elements not always found in temperate nations.<\/p>\n
Paiva and colleagues from EMBRAPA initially isolated 450 microorganisms capable of solubilizing the phosphorus found in clays and organic matter present in the soil. \u201cWe narrowed those 450 to a shortlist of 15 and tested them on sorghum, maize, and other crops. We then selected the five most productive bacteria for field trials,\u201d says the researcher. After demonstrating that yields are effectively improved, EMBRAPA signed a contract with Bioma to produce the inoculant. Two bacteria\u2014Bacillus subtilis<\/em> and Bacillus megaterium\u2014<\/em>were selected for the BiomaPhos product.<\/p>\n The inoculant has initially been registered for use on maize crops, and has been shown to increase yields by 14 to 20 bushels per hectare, according to EMBRAPA. \u201cThe product improved both phosphorus nutrition and yield stability by increasing tolerance to water stress,\u201d says crop scientist Lu\u00eds Eduardo Curioletti, who manages an experimental station operated by Agrum Agrotecnologias Integradas, one of the companies engaged to validate the product.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been surprised by the level of adoption within a short period of product launch,\u201d says Paiva. She explains that the bacilli in the inoculant interact with phosphorus contained in soil or chemical fertilizers. \u201cAcids and enzymes released by the bacteria help to break down phosphorus molecules that are present in the soil in forms that are unavailable to plants,\u201d says the EMBRAPA researcher. Phosphorus does not occur as a free element in nature; it is usually associated with oxygen atoms and forms compounds called phosphates.<\/p>\n \u201cBacteria are able to solubilize these phosphates,\u201d explains agronomist Maria Catarina Megumi Kasuya of the Federal University of Vi\u00e7osa (UFV) in Minas Gerais. \u201cThey can take phosphate from rock, for example, and make it soluble for use by both the plant and the microbe itself.\u201d Because Brazil\u2019s soils are generally poor in phosphate, this type of inoculant is not a replacement for phosphate fertilizers, but can reduce the amounts required.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/076-079_sementes-inoculadas_285-0-en-desktop.jpg\")
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