What is the challenge?
Nitrogen is the most important nutrient used in modern farming. It plays a key role in producing top quality food and maximising yields. The EU Farm to Fork strategy has identified targets of reducing nutrient losses by 50% by 2030 as well as a reduction of chemical fertiliser by 20%. These challenges to reduce nutrient losses and use of chemical fertiliser require solutions that meet these targets while still maintaining yields.
Nutrient Use Efficiency can be defined as a plant’s ability to take up and use nutrients. When nutrients like Nitrogen are applied, much of it is not taken up by the plant and is lost to the environment. Improving Nutrient Use Efficiency of crops can curtail environmental losses while in parallel, deliver economic gains.
Biostimulants, as their name suggests, stimulate the natural processes in plants and improve performance. At Brandon Bioscience, we fine-tune the bioactivity of our seaweed extracts using our PSI® Precision Technology to target specific responses in plants like Nitrogen Use Efficiency.
Powered by Nature, Proven by Science, Performs in Field
PSI®362 is manufactured from Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed harvested sustainably in Ireland and Scotland. We use our proprietary extraction process to obtain an engineered biomolecule complex which significantly improves a crop’s Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) through a well-defined physiological mode of action which optimized effectiveness to enhance Nitrogen uptake and assimilation mechanisms in plants.
Our solution, PSI®362 has been co-formulated to coat nitrogen mineral fertilisers. Due to this unique formulation, PSI® 362 works most efficiently when applied to crops at the same time as fertilizers. The products carefully formulated Precision Technology works best under reduced nitrogen, meaning less applied fertiliser is required by growers to gain the benefits of enhanced yields and increased quality that PSI® 362 Precision Technology provides.
Field trials have shown a positive increase of nitrogen uptake and assimilation of proteins. Through an upregulation of nitrate gene expression, there is an increase of nitrogen uptake from the ground even under reduced fertiliser conditions (proven effective in up to 27% reduced Nitrogen fertilizer usage), leading to an increase in plant biomass and yields for growers.
This mode of action supports the co-formulation of PSI® 362 with N fertiliser and it is aligned with the 4R nutrient framework for increasing crop Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE):
- Right Rate – with reduced nitrogen and PSI®362
- Right Source – good fertiliser and Brandon Bioscience’s Precision Biostimulant
- Right Timing – e.g., the tillering stage in barley when the grain is requiring the most nitrogen from the soil
- Right Placement – in the roots, where the plant is pulling up nitrogen from the soilor the plant
As pressure increases to improve the sustainability of agriculture while reducing the reliance on chemical fertilisers, PSI® 362 offers farmers a validated and proven solution to meet these challenges head-on.
To find out more about recent trials and published research on PSI®362, click here to find out more
