Microbiota of the soil, the great forgotten in fertilization

Mr. Roberto Baigorri Ekisoain is responsible for the Scientific Area of ​​the Technical and Development Department of Timac AGRO, a company based on innovation to obtain plant nutrition solutions, among others, and which has a World Research Center (CMI), collaborating with more of 100 universities.

In his paper entitled “Microbiota of the soil, the great forgotten in fertilization”, Roberto Baigorri will talk about the microorganisms of the soil and the additional contribution of others that complement the mineral fertilization.

The living part of the soil

The living part of the soil, microorganisms, is most of the time the great forgotten within the agronomic fertilization. Normally the farmer infers that a large part of the profitability of the crop is given by the NPK balance added to the substrate, normally soil, in the form of mineral fertilization.

This reflection leads us to forget that the mineral part of the soil, and therefore lacking in life, has to support a living entity such as the plant and that a part that was alive (humus) and another part comes into play which is the plant-soil link and which lives in said soil, the microorganisms.

These microorganisms are divided into bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects … we will focus on the most abundant bacteria and fungi which become a community of up to 5000 species in a fertile soil.

Why then add more of these microorganisms to the soil? Obviously not all species are equally abundant in different soils. And not all establish synergistic relationships with plants. And if in addition to choosing the best among them we add precursors of the molecules involved in the microorganism-plant communication, then we can have interesting products that complement the mineral fertilization.

Timac Agro: innovation as a key to achieve products with high added value

Timac Agro is dedicated to the development, manufacture and marketing of solutions in plant nutrition and animal feed products. Leading company in the national market of special fertilizers, is based on innovation, as a key means to achieve products with a high added value that contribute to profitable agricultural and livestock farms.

Multinational company, Timac AGRO is present in 39 countries and has 73 production units throughout the world. He currently collaborates with more than 100 universities and has a global research center (CMI), present and future of innovation in plant nutrition worldwide with more than 400 researchers.