Ask The Experts
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Rafael Juncosa
President and CEO
Futureco Bioscience
ABG: Given the essential role of biostimulants in climate-smart agriculture, how can the industry boost confidence in the efficacy and reliability of these products, which remains one of the major barriers to market growth?
RJ: The integration of the “omics”—transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics offers a comprehensive understanding of how biostimulants interact with plant physiological pathways to enhance resilience against environmental stresses. Recent advancements underscore the potential of omics technologies to dissect the intricate interactions between biostimulants and plant responses at the molecular level.
For instance, transcriptomic analysis have illuminated the pathways by which biostimulants modulate gene expression, leading to improved stress tolerance, nutrient uptake, and overall plant health. Proteomic studies further complement these findings by identifying specific proteins whose expression is altered in response to biostimulant application, offering insights into the functional mechanisms underlying enhanced crop resilience. Metabolomics, by profiling the wide array of metabolites affected by biostimulants, provides a holistic view of the metabolic adjustments that plants undergo to combat abiotic stresses. This approach not only aids in pinpointing the metabolic pathways influenced by biostimulants but also in identifying potential biomarkers for stress tolerance.
This holistic, omics-driven approach represents a paradigm shift in agricultural practices, moving toward more sustainable and efficient strategies to ensure food security in the face of climate change. The application of omics technologies not only advances our understanding of biostimulant-plant interactions but also paves the way for the development of next-generation biostimulants that can precisely address the multifaceted challenges posed by abiotic stresses.
David Li
Marketing Director and Chief Analyst
SPM Biosciences
ABG: Can you give us a forecast of prices of chlorothalonil, imidacloprid, and paraquat?
DL: Chlorothalonil is currently in good supply. Capacity utilization rate is relatively stable. The price of some upstream raw materials has been adjusted back, which is mainly due to the lack of end demand to the supply side of raw materials. After adjusting the supply of raw materials, the price adjustment can ensure the profit margin.
However, chlorothalonil AI prices mainly received the impact of sluggish demand. Due to 2024 some regions have relatively abundant rainfall this year. The demand for fungicides would gradually recover. But the demand recovery is not enough to stimulate chlorothalonil prices to a significant correction.
Marcus Meadows-Smith
CEO
BioConsortia
ABG: Are you experiencing support from the Brazilian government in regard to increasing access to fertilizers for growers?
MMS: Brazilian growers saw the cost of fertilizer going up, because of the war and supply issues in 2022-2023. But even when fertilizer prices are low, I still think growers are wondering if there is a more cost-effective, sustainable way? And to be honest, we check all the boxes in being more sustainable and delivering ammonia for plant growth where and when it’s needed through the growing system. We are seeing a lot of support from growers, fertilizer companies, governments, and from NGOs. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer represents somewhere between 2% to 4% of all global greenhouse gases. These microbial solutions are going to be transformational and beneficial to the environment. They’ll be easy to use for the grower and deliver what they need for plant growth and yield increase. •
By Michael Sapryhin – Adobe.stock.come
David Li – SPM BIOSCIENCES (BEIJING) INC.
Marcus Meadows-Smith – BioConsortia, Inc.
Rafael Juncosa – Futureco Bioscience
