Potato Review
www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 39 FERTILISATION It is the only viable alternative for plants since they can only ingest nitrogen from the soil as nitrogenous inorganic molecules, emphasizing the need for nitrogen xation. is ready-to-use nitrogen that bacteria provide to the crops is a much-needed component of chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis, which converts sunlight energy into the chemical energy that plants need. Furthermore, plants need nitrogen as a component of amino acids in order to construct proteins that function in metabolism and energy storage. A lack of nitrogen xation causes yellowing, thinning, withering, general growth delay and decay. Nitrogen- xing soil bacteria ultimately provide the ground with inorganic nitrogen- containing compounds that are essential crop nutrients. Upon their death, these nitrogen- xing bacteria release the nitrogen stored in their biomass into the soil, naturally increasing soil fertility and enabling farmers to save money on synthetic fertilizers. “Nitrogen bacteria teach us that nature, with her sophisticated forms of the chemistry of living matter, still understands and utilizes methods, which we do not as yet know how to imitate.” Teaming up for better soil assessments A MANUFACTURER of technology used globally to deliver insights into soil biology has teamed up with Syngenta Crop Protection to address soil health in potato growing. Biome Makers’ BeCrop® technology is used across the globe for assessing soil health and is to be used by Syngenta’s R&D-led LIVINGRO™ program. LIVINGRO™ is a platform that assesses biodiversity and soil health parameters in farming ecosystems. Its ndings are used to help growers improve on-farm biodiversity and safeguarding soils. is is accomplished in collaboration with globally recognized biodiversity, ecology, soil science, and agronomy specialists. Gina Swart, Global Head of Product Biology Disease Control at Syngenta said: “Anybody can sequence the DNA of the soil microbiome and produce vast amounts of data through next generation sequencing. e real value is in understanding what the data shows and what you do with those insights.” She said the technology helps “make sense” of the data and generates actionable soil health metrics. Co-Founder and CSO of Biome Makers, Alberto Acedos, said: “Collaborations like LIVINGRO™ are extremely important to advance towards real personalized agriculture. It is also vital to restore the balance of the ecology of our soils and reduce the risk of diseases and malnutrition for plants growing on imbalanced soils.” “Soil bacteria play a crucial role in practically all elements of nitrogen availability, supporting the formation and growth of both underground ecosystems and plants.”
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