We asked industry insiders about the biologicals trends they’re watching. By Carol Miller | Editor, American Vegetable Grower
We’re in the midst of an exciting phase for biologicals in U.S. specialty agriculture. The category has proven itself enough to gain the grower’s trust, but still has much more to explore.
Just as today’s biologicals industry is vastly more mature than it was five years ago, it will continue expanding over the next few years.
“Though adoption of biologicals in the specialty crops sector is more advanced than in other crop segments, the growth is still rapidly developing,” says Chris Judd, Global Vice-President of Marketing, Certis Biologicals.
To get a glimpse into where we’re heading, we asked researchers and suppliers what they think will happen in the coming year.
Researchers across the world are focusing on soils. Many think of it as the final frontier of agriculture. We know a great deal about plant physiology and how insects and diseases interact with crops and impact yield. But there’s still much to learn about soil health.
“The recent emphasis on building soil health will continue to grow and that could be the next big development,” says Surendra Dara, Cooperative Extension Advisor-Entomology and Biologicals, University of California.
One good example of how much we can still learn is a recent study on hybrid vigor in corn from North Carolina State University and University of Kansas which found that soil microbes had an outsized impact on the results.
“The researchers started by growing hybrid and inbred corn plants in sterile bags,” the team reports. “Both types of plants grew similarly sized roots and shoots inside the bags. But when the researchers added to the bags a controlled set of microbes known to associate with corn roots in nature, hybrid lines grew more than inbred lines — their roots and shoots weighed more — showing the expected effects of heterosis [or hybrid vigor].”
As researchers learn more about how soil-borne microbes affect crops, suppliers will be able to offer growers those found to be most beneficial.
In the early days of the biologicals industry, numerous companies and products appeared on the scene vying for growers’ attention. Many offered effective crop protection solutions. Others did not. And a general lack of understanding among producers about how to use biologicals led to confusion and a hesitancy to try them.
The industry has largely moved past that developmental stage. But standards from state to state vary, continuing to create headaches for all. No one is sure which rules they must abide by. Even suppliers are calling for more regulation.
“Regulatory harmonization among the states and between the states and federal level would definitely help smaller biopesticide producers who are having difficulty with a handful of states that are preventing nationwide product distribution,” says Entomologist Murray Isman, Dean Emeritus, University of British Columbia.
Along the same lines, everyone from suppliers to growers is calling for transparency and proof of performance as the best way to ensure continued growth in the biologicals industry.
“Manufacturers and distributors must continue to provide proof and transparency in efficacy and performance with bio-based products in conjunction with synthetic chemistries in an IPM [program],” Judd says.
Many growers, like Kim Horton, Agronomist, Grimmway Farms, will not even trial products unless the supplier has done its due diligence. She looks for third-party research on the organic vegetable crops Grimmway Farms produces. Many companies, she says, conduct research on one category, like permanent crops, and expect buyers from others feel reassured. Berries and carrots will not react the same way, she points out.
“I have often told suppliers that we’re not a research company, we’re a production farm,” Horton says.
As with all inputs, applying biologicals to orchards and fields can be labor intensive. That has researchers looking at both old and new ideas. Take using bees as a delivery system.
“This is an old concept but is gaining popularity now,” Dara says.
Bee Vectoring Technologies International (BVT) has developed just such an inoculum dispenser system. It’s currently working with berry and almond growers and recently added sunflowers to its mix.
“In short, the system has commercially reared bees walk through a tray of a light powder containing a naturally occurring fungus before leaving their hive. As they carry out their natural pollination process, they drop spores on each plant they visit causing the plant to block diseases,” says Laurie Dawson-Riley, a PR representative for BVT.
More growers are using tools like drones to apply both beneficials and other biologicals to the field, as well. Researchers and suppliers have experimented with safely getting live bugs to the field via drone. They must consider how far they can fall without injury or fatality, if the insects will fall where they’re intended at various speeds, and how to provide food to keep them alive until they reach the fields.
All this data gathering allows suppliers to offer quality recommendations to growers.
No matter how effective biologicals are, it takes knowledge and information to earn acceptance among growers, placing an emphasis on education from all corners of the market. Biologicals companies, universities, and events like the Biocontrols USA Conference & Expo have led the way.
Biologicals demand an integrated pest management (IPM) mindset, an understanding of how conventional, organic, and biological products work together.
“Growers must feel comfortable in the [use] of sustainable biological products. For the market to grow, these types of education efforts must continue,” Judd says.
In part, having an infusion of younger growers taking over farms has helped boost biological use.
“This is a generational shift from an aging to a younger, better educated grower community, one that is more in touch with concerns for environmental and human health of themselves and their workers,” Isman says.
Dara agrees, and would like to also see more institutional investment. We don’t have enough researchers who are trained in biologicals, he says.
Another heartening sign that the biological industry will continue to thrive? The amount of investment large and small companies are making.
“The continued and strategic investment into biologicals has been a critical recent advancement in the industry,” Judd says. “Advancements and innovation aimed at finding new, sustainable ways to control a wide variety of diseases and pests has given growers more tools for crop protection. From utilizing living microorganisms, microbially derived extracts and metabolites, viruses, phage-based products to natural compounds, there are more sustainable options than ever for growers to deploy against the pests and diseases that threaten their crops.”
Photos: Certis Biologicals/O’Neil Arnold
