agricultural “probiotics” - university of florida · 2019. 9. 12. · june 2018 special issue...

Copyright © 2019 Locus Agricultural Solutions

Agricultural “Probiotics”:✓ Increased Crop Productivity✓ Accelerated Soil Carbon Sequestration✓ Increased On-Farm Profits

June 2018 Special Issue of Industrial Biotechnology

Dedicated to “Agricultural Probiotics”

Cover shot: Florida Strawberry Field

Released at the July. 2018 World Congress of

Industrial Biotechnology in Philadelphia

Great papers and commentary on multiple topics

contributed by many companies operating in this

sector

Editors: Larry Walker and Paul Zorner

Key Conceptual Foundation

Productive Agriculture Starts With Healthy Soil

• Rhizosphere microbiome serves the same immune, nutrition and health function

for plants as the “gut” microbiome does for humans.

• Enriching and supporting this ecologically important population allows crops to

naturally flourish

– Just like probiotics are beneficial for humans, they are also beneficial for plants

Microbial Solutions for Top Agricultural Challenges

4

• Soil degradation• Pest resistance to

chemicals• Consumer concerns

over GMOs• Grower profits

• Chemical residues on food• Movement of inorganic nutrients

and chemicals to sensitive environments

• Climate change

Agricultural productivity and the communities in which we grow our food are experiencing serious challenges from:

New 2000 Year Old Insight

“One thing is sure: the Earth is more cultivated

and developed now than ever before; there is

more farming but fewer forests, swamps are

drying up and cities springing up on an

unprecedented scale. We have become a burden

to our planet. Resources are becoming scarce

and soon Nature will no longer be able to satisfy

our needs.”

How have we avoided disaster?

• Opening new lands

• Technology/Innovation

• Agriculture a climate “hero”-Quintus Septimius Tertullianus

- (Roman politician) 200 BC

The rhizoplane as described in L. Philippot et al. Nature Rev Microbiol 11: 789-799, 2013

Crop Productivity Depends on Microbes

6

Grower’s Practice Rhizolizer®

Improved Soil Healthand Carbon Sequestration

Enhanced Nutrient Uptake

Increased Root Massand Stress Tolerance

Optimized Productivity

Greater Canopy Vigorand Crop Quality

A Multitude of Benefits

C02

“sugars” secreted from roots and feed microbes which then deposit carbon in soil

Locus Ag Soil Probiotic

A customized, non-GMO and organic-certified soil amendment comprised of two microbes:

9

Soil fungus that supports root nutrient uptake

Beneficial rhizobacteria that solubilizes nutrients in the soil

Trichoderma harzianum

1. 2.Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

✓ Low Use Rate ✓ Low Cost ✓ Easy Application

Improved Productivity in Trees Impacted By Citrus Greening

10

Citrus Greening Disease

is Devastating Florida Citrus

in annual revenues since early 2000’s

57% Decrease

Treated Groves:

Increased Vigor

Higher Yields

Improved Fruit Quality

While the industry is slowly rebuilding,

it needs effective solutions…

✓ Root mass✓ Tree architecture✓ Young tree growth

✓ Weight✓ Diameter✓ Brix

✓ Pound solids✓ Box weight

Improved Root Growth

Applied bi-monthly; three total treatments

Differences are statistically significant Differences are statistically significant

21

37

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Dry

Ro

ot M

ass (

g/s

am

ple

)

Orange Tree Root MassHighlands County, FL – October

2017

Grower's Practice Rhizolizer

38

69

10

30

50

70

Dry

Ro

ot M

ass (

g/s

am

ple

)

Grapefruit Tree Root MassSt. Lucie County, FL – December

2017


Valencia

Applied bi-monthly; two total treatments

Hamlin

Applied bi-monthly; two total treatments

29.85

40.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

Ave

rag

e W

eig

ht (g

)

Orange Tree Root Mass Collier County – January 2019


20.75

40.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

Ave

rag

e W

eig

ht (g

)

Orange Tree Root MassPolk County – January 2019


Grower’s Practice Rhizolizer

fibrous root mass

Up to

93%increase in

11

More roots

Rhizolizer






Improved Fruit Quality

2.4

2.6

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

Fru

it D

iam

ete

r (in)

Citrus Fruit Diameter St. Lucie County, FL – October 2017


9.42

10.18

9.00

9.20

9.40

9.60

9.80

10.00

10.20

10.40


Degre

es B

rix (

°Bx)

Citrus Brix MeasurementCharlotte County, FL

380

401

365

370

375

380

385

390

395

400

405


Avera

ge W

eig

ht (g

)

Citrus Fruit WeightCharlotte County, FL

3 total treatments

Differences are statistically significant

3 total treatments


3 total treatments


Brix fruit diameter fruit weight

Up to

8%increase in

Up to

8%increase in

Up to

5.5%increase in

13

Improves Harvest Yield

Increases Fruit Size

20926

16656

13055

7902 8364

56176379

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019


Weig

ht B

oxes

Harvest Season

Citrus Grower 2 Total Weight BoxesEarly-Mid Juice Oranges

Lake County, FL – 2012-2019

Citrus Grower 3 Productivity Measurement Increases

Pound solids 12%

Brix 9%

Weight boxes 11%

Pound solids/box 10%

14

Improved Harvest Yield

4 total treatments


8599

9582

12250

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000

12000

13000

Grower's Practice(2016-2017)


Rhizolizer(2018-2019)

Weig

ht B

oxes

Citrus Grower 1 Weight BoxesEarly-Mid Juice

Lake County, FL – January 2019

5617

6379

5200

5400

5600

5800

6000

6200

6400

6600



Weig

ht B

oxes

Citrus Grower 2 Weight BoxesEarly-Mid Juice


44715 44107

58923

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

55000

60000




Tota

l P

ounds S

olid

s

Citrus Grower 1 Pounds Solids Early-Mid Juice


27019

29535

25500

26000

26500

27000

27500

28000

28500

29000

29500

30000



Tota

l P

ounds S

olid

s

Citrus Grower 2 Pounds SolidsEarly-Mid Juice


weight boxes

pound solids

Up to

42%increase in

Up to

34%increase in

15

Improved crop productivity via multiple mechanisms of action.

*Varies by crop

Increases shown by up to:* 34% Citrus

5% Corn

14% Cotton

4% Peanuts

31% Potatoes

9% Sod

22% Strawberries

35% Tobacco Leaf Length

18% Tobacco Leaf Width

40% Tomatoes

34% Watermelon

Increases in yield up to:

Root Mass

Yields

Trunk Diameter

Canopy Density

Brix

Chlorophyll Density

Leaf Tissue Nitrogen Levels

153%

43%

30%

33%

26%

20%

3%

43% Cantaloupe

Positive Results Across More Than A Dozen Crops

16

✓Available in 41 states✓OMRI certified ✓Used commercially on > 40k acres

Already 1 billion cells per gram of soil

✓ Metagenomic functionality✓ Quorum Sensing

Improved Soil Healthand Carbon Sequestration

Enhanced Nutrient Uptake

Increased Root Massand Stress Tolerance

Optimized Productivity

Greater Canopy Vigorand Crop Quality

A Multitude of Benefits

C02

“sugars” secreted from roots and feed microbes which then deposit carbon in soil

464 gallonsof gas

1 passengervehicle per year

Applying Rhizolizer to Just 1 Acre of Citrus Trees,4x Per Year Can Offset the GHGs from:

Improved Soil Health and Accelerated Soil Carbon Sequestration

OR

1Acre

19

Data is approximated based on 4.38 metric tons CO2 equivalent/acre/year from soil carbon sequestration. Does not include soil GHG reduction results.

*Metric tons CO2 equivalents/acreInitial top trial results compared to grower practices

Locus Ag – SoilCQuest Partnership

• Locus Ag and SoilCQuest collaborating on deployment of soil carbon sequestration technology

• SCQ microbe deposits carbon at levels similar to Locus Ag Rhizolizer® at 4+ metric tons C02e/year/acre soil carbon deposition.

• SCQ microbes provide a great visual example of microbes using secreted plant sugars to fix atmospheric carbon in soil.

David Johnson – New Mexico State University

April 10, 2019

Carbon Removal – A New American Agricultural Product: How Carbon

Farming and Building Soil Health Will Fight Climate Change

Our best shot at cooling the

planet might be right under

our feet

Jason Hickel at The Gaurdian

OCTOBER 5, 2017

Soil holds potential to slow global warming, Stanford researchers find

The land under our feet and the plant matter it contains could offset a significant amount of carbon

emissions if managed properly. More research is needed to unlock soil’s potential to mitigate global

warming, improve crop yields and increase resilience to extreme weather.

Science News

Climate Change Goes Underground

Soil Science Society of America

Amplified Soil Carbon Deposition From Crop-Microbe SynergyCrops become more active carbon “pumps”

2.2%Sequestration in just these five crops alone can reduce annual greenhouse

gas emissions in the U.S. by

231Metric tons of CO2 equivalents/acre annually | Initial top trial results compared to grower practices 2Estimation from the Rodale Institute 3Citrus and grape measurements from Texas A&M, other crops validated by Ramboll

CitrusFlorida

GrapesCalifornia

TurfgrassArizona

AlmondCalifornia 6.2

Increases in CO2e Sequestration Annually

4.4

3.5

3.2

CherriesCalifornia 3.3

tons per acre1

tons per acre1

tons per acre1

tons per acre1

Within three months

tons per acre1

Third-Party Validated Measurements3

How we sequester carbon has a BIG impact.

1 Acre

1 passenger vehicle OR1 passenger vehicle

Applying Soil “Probiotics” to Just 1 Acre of Citrus Trees, 4x Per Year Can Offset the GHGs

1Acre

Data is approximated based on 4.7 metric tons CO2 equivalents per passenger vehicle annually, according to the EPA. Does not include soil GHG reduction results.

OR

464 gallons of gas

✓ Larger root volume✓ More crop canopy and chlorophyll density✓ Increased fungal biomass

Soil carbon credits are now a reality,with the first transaction already completed in Australia

Potential Buyers

Are Expanding

Carbon Credit Market Increasing

In Size And Sophistication

• Voluntary credits at $3-$10 per metric ton• FUTURE Act credits at as much as $35 per

metric ton• Increasing likelihood of “carbon taxes”

being levied world-wide• Growing involvement from major financial

firms (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley)

• Airlines will be required to offset carbon by 2021

• Public companies are increasingly under pressure from shareholders

• Regulatory barriers are being erected to reduce the carbon footprint of companies expanding their facilities

“Probiotics” Can Generate Significant Carbon Credits and Grower IncomeW

hy I

t M

att

ers

:

15

Albert Einstein

“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking

that created them”

agricultural “probiotics” - university of florida · 2019. 9. 12. · june 2018 special issue...

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