Today bio-stimulants and bio – stimulation really are hot topics.
Farmers are scouting bio-stimulants as a solution to produce better and cleaner crops. Distributors want to introduce bio-stimulants into their product range as a commercially interesting product due to increased demand and better margins compared to fertilizers. But what bio-stimulant to select? What active ingredients? Who are reliable suppliers? These are just some of the questions that could appear.
The biostimulant you choose needs to solve the real problem for customers. The key question here is; what mode of action (see picture 1) of which specific biostimulant can avoid or solve the problem in future crop productions? It is of high importance that scientific literature and studies are available to back up the claims.
For some biostimulant products, the active ingredient may be accounted for down to the specific chemical compound, while for others it may simply state that it “contains plant extracts”. So you need to determine how much information you require. It is obvious that the biostimulant with the clear active ingredient, based on reliable trial results and application research, is the one that should be selected. But is that always the case ? Farmers now critique all their inputs due to the supply chain audits required to satisfy supermarkets. Are they aware of the risk of applying a product on their crop if they do not know what ingredients are in it?
In our next blog dedicated to biostimulants we will present an overview of additional items and fundamental “must-haves” that are of importance concerning good practice of applying biostimulants and how to build up a comprehensive business case.
