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BIOSTART is an agritech company with a strong biological focus based on the philosophy that a sustainable healthy soil is the key to making the most of a farmer's land.
Using this philosophy, it has been developing and testing products that harness the power of naturally occurring microbes to answer a wide range of primary industry needs for 26 years.
This year, BioStart planted a site at the East Gippsland Innovation Days to demonstrate how its biostimulant products work to improve vegetable crop yields.
The results were independently assessed and show clear increases in growth, faster establishment, less transplantation shock and bigger root and head sizes in broccoli and lettuce.
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BioStart's key soil biostimulant, Mycorrcin, is applied to soil around actively growing plants to improve plant health and resilience by stimulating soil microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi.
These microbes improve root growth and facilitate nutrient uptake leading to faster establishment and growth in crops.
Additionally, mycorrhizal fungi produce proteins that aggregate soil to improve its long-term structure.
Their foliar biostimulant, Foliacin, enhances plant growth through stimulating the microbes on plant foliage to help improve recovery from chemical and environmental stress.
Further, Foliacin optimises photosynthesis by aiding green leaf retention leading to greater growth, less crop rejects and higher yields.
Chief executive officer and scientist Dr Jerome Demmer explains the link between microbes and plant growth and health.
"Plants cannot grow without the help of microbes to absorb nutrients from the soil," Dr Demmer said.
"There are naturally occurring microbes living in the root zone, inside the plant and on plant surfaces.
"All of these are essential to the plant's survival but getting the right mix of microbes is key to increasing productivity or plant health."
For the EGVID trial the vegetable seed trays were treated with Mycorrcin to stimulate the roots at an application rate of 0.5 L of 1:100 dilution of Mycorrcin.
This was followed by a seed bed treatment prior to planting at 6L/ha of Mycorrcin.
Foliacin was applied to iceberg lettuce and broccoli foliage at 1L/ha/application at two weekly intervals.
The Mycorrcin treatment showed better root growth in seedlings while the application of Mycorrcin and Foliacin lead to increases in lettuce and broccoli head weight at the following rates:
- Iceberg lettuce planting date one there was a 7.8 per cent increase in head weight from 1.37 to 1.48kg
- Iceberg lettuce planting date two there was a 11pc increase in head weight from 1.33 to 1.48kg
- Broccoli planting date 1 there was a 7.8pc increase in head weight from 404g to 436g
The BioStart biostimulant products are based on fermentation extracts that work by activating the naturally occurring microbes in the soil or leaves. As they contain no live microbes, they are stable, easy to use and can be co-applied with cover sprays, herbicides and nutritional sprays.
26 years of developing products, scientifically testing and trialling them with growers, puts BioStart in the position of being able to support primary industries to be more productive while protecting and improving the environment.
For more information on BioStart products, visit biostart.com.au or to order call 1800 953 042.
- Copy supplied by Biostart.
