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June 21, 2024ALGAEMICRO is an R&D project developed by Ficosterra in which marine algae and growth-promoting microorganisms are integrated for use in agriculture.
Ficosterra has received assistance from the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) amounting to €188,722, with file number IDI-20230219, conducted between August 2022 and November 2023.
BACKGROUND
To meet the growing demand for food driven by population growth, the FAO estimates that global agricultural production in 2050 must be 60% higher than that of 2005. Climate change and its consequences, which alter traditional agricultural ecosystems, are hindering agricultural production capacity, making it a global problem.
Currently, because of the intensification of agricultural practices in past decades, soil dynamics, agronomic capacity, and composition have changed due to the intensive use of chemical fertilizers. Continuing with these practices will lead to soil exhaustion, resulting in sterile soil.
From an economic point of view, the intensive use of chemical fertilization leads to diminishing returns for farmers in their crops and loss of competitiveness, which always results in increased consumer prices.
Chemical fertilizers are the traditional choice of farmers to improve crop productivity and control potential diseases. However, it cannot be ignored that their use has consequences both on crops and soils and the environment in general.
It is also true that in recent years there has been a greater ecological awareness, care for the environment, and consumption of healthy foods, creating the need in the agribusiness to acquire natural active ingredients that increase crop yield without affecting soils and runoff.
PROPUESTA DE I+D+I PARA LA REGENERACIÓN DE LOS SUELOS
Ficosterra is a marine biotechnology company that manufactures natural products to mitigate problems caused by the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Their biostimulants and biofertilizers reduce carbon footprint and promote sustainable agriculture, understanding “sustainable” as respecting the environment and economic viability. Our unique selling proposition is that any farmer can switch from their fertilization practices to our organic product line, not only increasing crop yields at the same costs but also solving classic agricultural problems such as soil depletion, nitrate excesses, leaching, and soil acidity.
This proposal is where the “ALGAEMICRO” project arises, a project aimed at developing a unique technology that combines the benefits of macroalgae with microorganisms to offer agriculture a more sustainable alternative to achieve production goals.
The main axis of the technology lies in the synergistic effect experienced by algae and microorganisms, that is, their mutual ability to enhance their virtues, obtaining better results than if we used both independently.
Our raw materials, macroalgae, are an integral part of coastal marine ecosystems. It has been estimated that there are around 9,000 species of macroalgae classified into three main groups according to their pigmentation (for example, Phaeophyta, Rhodophyta, and Chlorophyta). Brown algae are the second most abundant group comprising about 2,000 species that reach their maximum biomass levels on rocky coasts in temperate zones; these are the most used type in agriculture, and among them, Laminariales are used as biofertilizers in agriculture). The use of macroalgae in the industry globally reached values of up to $6 billion in 2004, for the exploitation of alginates and other phycocolloids.
On the other hand, the agricultural industry represents $50 million in the use of fertilizers, biostimulants, and other additives, but only less than 1% corresponds to substances from algae.
So far, Ficosterra has developed three lines of certified ecological products based on macroalgal extracts. This line of products acts on soil, seeds, plants, and fruits, in an integrated fertilization approach that allows the optimization of standard fertilization practices, composed of a combination of mineral/chemical fertilizers N-P-K plus other stimulants (biostimulants, amino acids, humic/fulvic acids, and phytosanitary products, among the most common).
Macroalgal extracts have been widely documented to present different components with high biological activity, playing a role as growth stimulants, and performance enhancers, and increasing the efficiency of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress in diverse types of plants. Thus, macroalgal extracts not only allow better use of soil nutrients by the plant but also contribute to the gradual decrease of chemical fertilizers, thus recovering the full agricultural productivity potential of the soil. This has been proven in independent tests where it has been possible to achieve increases in total net crop benefits between 10 to 20%, depending on the crop and type of management.
Depending on the type of methodology used in the extraction of macroalgal compounds, fertilizers (substances containing NPK nutrients, vitamins, and minerals) and diverse types of biostimulants (natural substances that promote growth without being nutrients, soil improvers, or pesticides) can be obtained.
Ficosterra has succeeded in developing a new R&D project, called ALGAEMICRO, which will be used to increase crop yields through the contribution of microorganisms and soluble macroalgal components.
The R&D challenges that have been necessary to address this unique project financed by CDTI focus on the following aspects:
/ 1 / Production of a prebiotic from algae that meets the following characteristics:
- Firstly, it must have a positive effect on the crop (either directly or indirectly) when applied individually in an agricultural field.
- Secondly, the bio-stimulating product, since it represents >90% of the dry matter of the final product, must be completely soluble to avoid obstructions in agricultural systems and applications.
- Lastly, the main motivation of this raw material must provide a beneficial effect in growing the microbial colonies to be used, allowing the product to increase its efficiency without increasing its production costs.
/ 2 / Production of a probiotic
Based on three microbial strains that act on certain nutritional aspects of crops. These strains allow enhancing both conventional and ecological fertilization plans and more efficient use of nitrogenous fertilizers based on the main macronutrients (NPK).
/ 3 / Established synergy between the probiotic and the prebiotic
As well as between the different selected microbial strains. For this, it has been necessary to first ascertain the effects of each element and then select those elements that demonstrate greater internal compatibility.
The scientific-technological R&D challenge that Ficosterra has addressed with this project has been to achieve the development of its technology that combines the use of macroalgae from the laminariaceae family and specific microbial consortia with MPB (Microbial Plant Biostimulants) effect, where a new range of cutting-edge products in the agricultural sector is achieved.
The project has succeeded in scaling up production and has been validated by the Research Group in Chemical, Environmental, and Bioprocess Engineering (IQUIMAB) of the University of León and various field trials.