Microbes as Biostimulants
Safety
All microbes in biostimulant products belong to EFB class 1 which are defined as:
“Harmless micro-organisms (EFB class 1): Micro-organisms that have never been identified as causative agents of disease in man and that offer no threat to the environment.”
There already exists a globally harmonised classification for the safety of microbes, which places microbes them into one of four classes depending upon their pathogenicity and impact on the environment. In Europe, safety classification has been carried out by the European Federation of Biotechnologies.
As well as microbes used in biostimulant products, microbes in this class include:
- Yeasts used to make beer and wine.
- Yeasts used in bread making.
- Fungi to produce the veins in cheese.
- Bacteria that are used in probiotic drinks.
- Bacteria that enzymes are extracted from in food manufacture.
There are in fact more than 3500 traditionally fermented foods exist in the world of both animal and vegetable origin.
All the microbial species that are fermented for use in biostimulant products are originally sourced from registered culture collections, so we know exactly the genetic origin, genus species and strain of any of the microbes we want to put into a biostimulant product.
Confirmation that microbes used in biostimulant products are maintaining their genetic integrity are carried out through genetic sequencing and comparison with the original culture repository microbe.
Microbe fermentation companies in the U.K. can achieve international ISO 9001 accreditation, the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system. This demonstrates their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Microbe fermentation companies can also achieve ISO 14001 accreditation, which confirms they are able to implement an effective environmental management system.
As part of safety and quality control, batches of fermented microbes are tested for typical microbial contaminants and pathogens including E.coli & Salmonella.
Development & Performance
Microbial products were developed for use in agriculture to help address the problems of growing healthy, productive crops in soils that are becoming increasingly sterile and denuded of organic matter.
Microbes, soil and plants have evolved together over billions of years. It is plants’ association with microbes that has enabled them to move away from a strictly aquatic habit and colonise the majority of the surface of the earth.
The organic fraction of a healthy soil, the humus, is formed by the actions of microbes , both bacteria and fungi degrading organic matter.
Microbes are able to release essential macro and micronutrients in the organic and inorganic components of soil that would otherwise be unavailable to plants.
Bacteria and fungi form a multitude of genuinely symbiotic associations with plants whereby both the plants and microbes benefit. A well-known example of this is the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by Rhizobium species of bacteria in the root nodules of leguminous plants.
Plants actively encourage the growth of beneficial microbes by releasing a significant proportion of the nutrients they synthesise via photosynthesis into the soil via their roots.
It is a fact that all living organisms in a crowded ecosystem, particularly such a crowded environment as soil, have evolved antagonistic mechanisms to ensure their survival.
Plants also do this – the chemicals that we value in culinary herbs are typically produced by the plant to deter potential predators. Plants also release chemicals into the soil that prevent the growth of plants that would otherwise compete with them for space and nutrients.
