AGRICELLS Growth, your assurance for better yields

Before delving into who we are, what we offer, and how our biostimulation solutions position themselves in a rapidly growing yet unstructured market, it is essential, in my opinion, to (re)define the role of biostimulants.

What is a biostimulant?

Biostimulants are "fertilizers that stimulate plant nutrition processes independently of their nutrient content, solely to improve one or more of the following characteristics of plants or their rhizosphere:

• The efficiency of nutrient use;
• Tolerance to abiotic stress;
• Qualitative characteristics;
• The availability of nutrients confined in the soil and rhizosphere.”

Definition by the European Commission (from European Regulation 2019/1009 published in the Official Journal in June 2019 and applicable since July 2022).

In what context should they be used?

Before addressing this question, let's acknowledge a fact.

To be honest, even with the best genetics on the market, it's rare for our crops to reach their maximum potential... Add to that a plethora of bio-solutions, not all equally effective, and a poor understanding of how to use these products correctly, and you consistently end up with frustrated users, our farmers.

How many times have I heard the term "snake oil" when talking about biostimulants, rightly or wrongly, but certainly marked by a bad experience.

It's worth noting that there are multiple active substances used in the design of biostimulants, some are macroorganisms, others are microorganisms.

Agricells SA has chosen to work with the latter group, specifically: bacterial microorganisms.

Why? Simply because their effectiveness is scientifically and agronomically proven, they are simpler to produce, and their stability is excellent, provided you have the right recipe and formulation.

In addition, there are many bacteria with varying levels of effectiveness.

At Agricells SA , we have selected a particular strain of Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens, AG002/2 by its scientific name.

Why Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens?

Science is an integral part of our DNA (no pun intended). For many years scientific literature (which we have taken care to verify under controlled conditions, AND in field trials), has demonstrated that this bacterial strain AG002/2 has 4 modes of action on crops:

• It enables better assimilation of nutrients present in the soil, especially Nitrogen and Phosphorus, to make them bioavailable for the crop;
• It induces the production of specific hormones allowing better growth and vigor of the crop;
• It contributes to a better soil structure for the crop, by increasing root permeability, thereby facilitating the absorption of minerals and water;
• Finally, it competes with other microorganisms in the rhizosphere, which are less favorable for the crop. This allows the crop to pass through critical growth stages more quickly.

Our range of biostimulants AGRICELLS Growth has proven not only to reduce abiotic stress in crops but also to significantly increase their yields!

Below is an excerpt from the field results of our 2023 trial program.

Some figures:

20 GEP (Good Experimental Practice) trials conducted by renowned CROs (Contract Research Organizations) in 7 European countries, hence different types of soils and climates (Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Italy), on 7 crops (corn, cereals, soybeans, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, Chrysanthemums).

70% of these trials show a yield response, with an average of 11% higher than the control, and 85% of these trials are statistically significant, if using an LSD15% test (Least Significant Difference).

So in what context should biostimulants be used, and particularly our AGRICELLS Growth range?

Even if your crop seems to be in good health, there are numerous daily micro-stresses that reduce its growth and ultimately negatively impact your yield!

The graph below shows the typical rate of biomass formation (DM: Dry Matter) on a cultivated field.

It initially accumulates slowly as the crop establishes after sowing. Next, an acceleration phase (when the rows are covered by vegetation), followed by a deceleration phase as harvest approaches.

Most often, the conditions are not ideal for maximum biomass formation: it's too hot or too cold compared to the crop's optimum, too dry or too wet; the plant is attacked by pests or diseases, etc.

All these conditions are suboptimal and reduce the plant's photosynthetic capacity, as well as the absorption of essential nutrients for its growth.

The accumulation of these daily micro-stresses over a season creates a significant gap between the perceived final yield and the potential yield linked to the seed genetics.

So, what’s the advantage of the AGRICELLS Growth range?

By applying our products at the beginning of the crop cycle, in the seed furrow, as seed treatment, or in drip-irrigation/drench, depending on the crop treated, the AGRICELLS Growth range ensures robust root growth.

Like a sprinter on the starting blocks, it provides better foundations to exploit the growth potential of the crop, thus reducing the gap between practical and theoretical yield.

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What about shelf life?

This will be the subject of a future article, but to put it simply, all our products have a shelf life of 24 months! It's worth noting that the founders of Agricells SA come from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and several of our methodologies and processes are directly inspired by or transposed from these highly regulated sectors.

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What about the economics?

At Agricells SA , our goal is to make our solutions economically viable for our users! In this way we can have a greater impact on the environment.

Basically, this translates to a farmer's sale price ranging from €13/ha to €40/ha, depending on the biostimulation product chosen:

·?????? AGRICELLS Growth OD SEED, for seed treatment;

·?????? AGRICELLS Growth OD PULV, and AGRICELLS Growth WP for applications in the seed furrow or Drench/Drip-irrigation.

Furthermore, the optimization of yield made possible with crop treatment allows for an extremely interesting return on investment for the farmer.

Based on our 2023 trial program, we're talking about gains often exceeding 4 times the initial amount invested by the farmer.

For example: for 2 applications at €25/ha each on corn, the gain from yield optimization is €280/ha. Return on investment for the farmer: €280 - (2*€25) = €230/ha.

To sum up, what should you remember?

By choosing the AGRICELLS Growth range you can maximize your crop yields against the abiotic micro-stresses experienced during the crop cycle. As a result, you can get closer to the theoretical yield of your seeds’ genetics.

All this at a controlled cost, increasing the margin per hectare for the farmer.

Bonus: the application of our products does not add CO2 emissions per hectare; on the contrary, by helping to maximize the yield potential of the crop, it enables better efficiency, and thus a reduction in CO2 impact/ha.

Welcome to a future Sustainable Agriculture/ Sustainable Agriculture !

Find out more on our website: https://www.agricells.com/

And follow our LinkedIn page for all our news: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/agricells