Seaweed extract biostimulants make up the largest category in the biostimulant market, accounting for 30% of all products. As the most extensively studied category, their mechanisms and effectiveness are well-documented in peer-reviewed research. However, how can we distinguish between different seaweed extract biostimulants?
Several factors play a crucial role in determining the performance of these biostimulants.
- Species – Different species have different properties and different bioactive molecules
- Source – Where & how is the seaweed being harvested?
- Process – What extraction methods are being used? Are they hot or cold extractions?
- Concentration – How much bioactivity (complex carbohydrate compounds) is in your seaweed extract biostimulant?
- Molecular Size – What size are the bioactive carbohydrates? Are they the optimal size for greater bioactivity?
We’ll explore each of these five elements in more detail to help determine the quality and performance of seaweed extract biostimulants.
Species
There are over 10,000 species of seaweed around the world across green, brown and red algae. Species are specific to different regions and oceans. At Brandon Bioscience, our seaweed biostimulants are produced using a brown alga: Ascophyllum nodosum. Ascophyllum nodosum is an intertidal seaweed found exclusively in the North Atlantic. It experiences extreme environmental pressures as the tide comes in and out. This gives it more bioactive properties to combat stress & improve plant health. Other seaweed species used commercially include Sargassum, Ecklonia and Durvillea. These species are subtidal and experience far less environmental pressures and thus, contain less marine bioactives to combat stress and improve plant health. Complex carbohydrates compounds found within Ascophyllum nodosum based biostimulants are responsible for the biostimulant effects. These include Alginate, Laminarian and Fucoidan along 21 amino acids, natural antioxidants and over 60 chelated elements.
Source
Transparency of the source raw material is important as location and method all influence the characteristics of seaweed extracts. We harvest Ascophyllum nodosum off the coast of Ireland and Scotland using purpose-built boats. Control over harvesting ensures that our biostimulants contain 100% Ascophyllum nodosum
Process
Processing conditions control the amount and type of bioactive molecules in a seaweed extract and give us products that behave differently. Each process shares the same objective i.e. to release biomolecules from the cell wall but each does so to a different standard of efficiency. A hot or a cold process will impact composition, quality & performance in very different ways. Cold extraction is limited in breaking down sugars for maximum absorption by the plant. More long chain sugars results in lesser bioactivity, a lesser concentration of solids and therefore requiring a higher dose rate per application. At Brandon Bioscience, using our proprietary hot processes, we unlock the bioactivity of our seaweed extract biostimulants for maximum performance. The higher concentration results in a lower dose rate per application as well as more active biomolecules for greater performance and efficiency.
Concentration
What sets extracts apart is delivering the highest total solids per litre that contains zero additives of fillers. meticulously optimised and proven processes are designed to release the highest number of eliciting bioactives, resulting in higher concentration and exceptional product effectiveness.
Molecular Size
Not only are the bioactive molecules (complex carbohydrate compounds) important in understanding the bioactivity of biostimulants but their size is critical in activating the plant response. The right size carbohydrates (oligosaccharides) will result in greater bioactivity. Brandon Bioscience’s extracts when mapped against competitor biostimulants show higher biological responses in the plant.
When taking these 5 factors into account, they all play a role to determine the quality and performance of seaweed extract biostimulants.
About Brandon Bioscience
Brandon Bioscience is a marine biotechnology company based in Co. Kerry, Ireland. Brandon Bioscience produces biostimulants derived from marine based biomolecules. Using their PSI® Technology, they fine-tune the bioactivity of their extracts to increase nutrient use efficiency, crop quality and tolerance to abiotic stresses. Founded in 1998, Brandon is proud to pioneer the research of marine based biomolecules and their application as crop based biostimulants. Through peer reviewed publications & trials that provide farmers with the benefits of biostimulants, Brandon Bioscience enables them to meet their production, revenue & environmental goals.
