Biologicals - Helpful Information for Ontario Grain Farmers
Bottom line recommendation: Before you invest heavily in a biological (specifically a microbe), ask a company for a free sample and try it on your farm on a couple of strip plots for two years, and compare yields in a side by side comparison (+/- product, properly controlled).
Biologicals are definitely not 'snake oil' and can work great under controlled conditions, but they are living organisms, not chemicals, and thus alter their growth and traits under field conditions when the temperature, humidity, soil type, pH, soil nutrients, chemical inputs and crop variety change -- even switching from being recognized as a friend to becoming an enemy (pathogen) and causing yield declines. Furthermore, crops and soils have endogenous microbiomes that any biological must interact with, and can be outcompeted by. All of this contributes to field-to-field and season-to-season variability and contradictory findings.
Additionally, the safety of certain microbes for humans and livestock needs to be questioned, particularly if you're immunocompromised. Check if a microbial species (Latin name) is classified as Risk Group 1 (very safe) or Risk Group 2 (potentially worrisome) according to the Health Canada ePathogen database.
Today's biologicals are 'first generation'. No seed company would ever sell a single variety or hybrid globally, but biological companies sell single microbial strains globally and expect them to work on all crop varieties in all environments and soil types. Moving forward, microbes need to be evolved to adapt them to local environments, similar to how seed companies breed seeds. Even then, microbes should come with varietal and input recommendations and disclaimers. When such 'second generation' biologicals and guidance become available, the potential of these technologies will truly be realized.
Until then, be cautious but certainly experiment (with the proper controls and replicates).
If you are an Ontario grain farmer looking for some advice on biologicals (specifically a microbial inoculant), feel free to email me and I will be happy to setup a time to chat and answer questions ([email protected]). Kindly type in the email header, "Ontario farmer seeking advice on biologicals".
Please look at the independent studies below.
I will be continuously updating this site.
--Manish Raizada
Biologicals are definitely not 'snake oil' and can work great under controlled conditions, but they are living organisms, not chemicals, and thus alter their growth and traits under field conditions when the temperature, humidity, soil type, pH, soil nutrients, chemical inputs and crop variety change -- even switching from being recognized as a friend to becoming an enemy (pathogen) and causing yield declines. Furthermore, crops and soils have endogenous microbiomes that any biological must interact with, and can be outcompeted by. All of this contributes to field-to-field and season-to-season variability and contradictory findings.
Additionally, the safety of certain microbes for humans and livestock needs to be questioned, particularly if you're immunocompromised. Check if a microbial species (Latin name) is classified as Risk Group 1 (very safe) or Risk Group 2 (potentially worrisome) according to the Health Canada ePathogen database.
Today's biologicals are 'first generation'. No seed company would ever sell a single variety or hybrid globally, but biological companies sell single microbial strains globally and expect them to work on all crop varieties in all environments and soil types. Moving forward, microbes need to be evolved to adapt them to local environments, similar to how seed companies breed seeds. Even then, microbes should come with varietal and input recommendations and disclaimers. When such 'second generation' biologicals and guidance become available, the potential of these technologies will truly be realized.
Until then, be cautious but certainly experiment (with the proper controls and replicates).
If you are an Ontario grain farmer looking for some advice on biologicals (specifically a microbial inoculant), feel free to email me and I will be happy to setup a time to chat and answer questions ([email protected]). Kindly type in the email header, "Ontario farmer seeking advice on biologicals".
Please look at the independent studies below.
I will be continuously updating this site.
--Manish Raizada
Independent evaluation of PivotBio at University of Illinois by Dr. Fred Below's Lab (2024)
| woodward_et_al_2024_agronomy_j.pdf |
Independent evaluations of PivotBio, Utrisha, Envita and MicroAZST led by North Dakota State University (2023)
| franzen_2023.pdf |