Sustainable agriculture: INIA Chile develops endophytic probiotics that can replace agrochemicals

INIA Quilamapu researchers developed the technology known as Endomix T1 based on live microorganisms, which replace agrochemicals.

The figures are alarming. Currently, Chile uses twice as many agrochemicals as the average of the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), being the country in this group that more agrochemicals apply in their agricultural production systems.

To this is added, on the one hand, the increase in the prices of fertilizers which in some cases, such as urea, exceeds 100% and, on the other, the existence of new and more aggressive pests and agricultural diseases, along with higher levels of contamination of water and soil worldwide.

Faced with this worrying and complex scenario, and focused on proposing a sustainable alternative, a group of researchers from INIA Quilamapu, headed by the agronomist engineer Lorena Barra-Bucarei, developed the technology known as Endomix T1, a product generated based on a mixture of two strains of endophytic microorganisms (fungi) of the genus Trichoderma.

What is significant is that these can live inside the plant and provide them, from there, multiple benefits, something similar to what probiotics do in humans, promoting growth through various mechanisms.

Both strains of fungi comprehensively benefit some species of vegetables, such as lettuce, corn, pepper, chili, cucumber and tomato, making them stronger against some diseases. "To the extent that Endomix T1 is inoculated (supplied) in early stages of plant development, better results are obtained in promoting growth"Barra-Bucarei explained.

The INIA Quilamapu researcher and doctor in agricultural sciences added that the creation of this product is intended to facilitate its use in the field by small farmers. “What we did was put together endophytic strains that promote growth, and we put them in a container, which in turn contains small containers with just the right doses to be used by a sprayer or back pump.”

The development of Endomix technology as a plant probiotic meant that in 2021 they were awarded the “Innovative Scientific Award”, Awarded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and the Universidad de Los Andes, for facilitating the use of products that contribute to the natural care of crops.

Community Outreach

Within the framework of the FNDR project "Technology transfer and agricultural extension for producers in the province of Arauco", which is financed by the Regional Government of Biobío, researchers from the INIA Quilamapu bio-inputs unit, Lorena Barra-Bucarei and Javiera Ortiz showed the benefits that presents in orchards of vegetables, cereals, flowers and minor fruit trees, the use of bio-inputs. Students and farmers from the communes of Cañete and Curanilahue participated in these two-day activities.

The coordinator of the project, Rodrigo Avilés, maintained that "we have been able to generate instances of training and dissemination of innovative practices, which contribute to the development of crops in the province."

The INIA Quilamapu professional highlighted "the high interest of producers, producers, technical teams and also students of the Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga Technical High School and the Catholic University of the Santísima Concepción, who, in a practical way, have participated in the various organized activities”.

In this regard, the director of the high school, Mario Contreras, considered this training as "very relevant", especially for the agricultural specialty that he teaches. "This is knowledge that our students will acquire, so that, in the future, they can apply this type of innovative strategies," he indicated, in addition to highlighting the link that existed some time ago with INIA, which allows the delivery of new tools to students. students.

In the same sense, the student Matías Carrillo, who participated in the training, indicated that "I found it entertaining and with good information (...), I have the idea of ​​continuing with a career in the area of ​​agronomy in the future."

Meanwhile, farmer Juan Pincheira, from the Cayucupil sector in Cañete, considered this new alternative of using microorganisms to strengthen crops interesting. “One always ends up in the chemical, but, according to what is happening in the world, it is time for us to start testing new products and produce something healthy for our health. I always make my own fertilizers, which allows me to save money. Now I will start applying Endomix”.

After completing the training activities, the researcher Lorena Barra-Bucarei reinforced the need to teach subjects that teach the importance of bio-inputs in agriculture: “children's curiosity must be encouraged when they study biology (...) there is a discipline called biomimicry, which consists of looking at nature and copying what it does; Well, we observed it and we saw that pests are controlled with other microorganisms and we bring it to a product", referring to Endomix.

He added that "In high school, we should talk about beneficial microorganisms and their multiple applications, while for agricultural schools and universities, it should be mandatory to teach a course on bio-inputs for sustainable agriculture."

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