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Why is abiotic stress a threat for your crops?

 

Abiotic stress, the negative impact on crops caused by environmental and non-living factors, constitutes a major limitation to agricultural production. Phenomena such as drought, extreme heat or cold, excess salinity, soil mineral deficiency and soil toxicity are among the most impactful environmental stresses for crops from an ecological and economical point of view. The impact of this factor, that is hardly ever absent in crop production, is even worsening in many regions of the world due to the effect of climate change, through more frequent episodes of extreme heat, increased drought conditions, and desertification, as well as more frequent storms and flooding.

The economic damage due to abiotic stress is severe and often underestimated. For corn, one of the most important commodities worldwide, abiotic stress bears 66% of the yield loss, compared with an estimated contribution of biotic stress (that is to say, the negative effect of pests and parasites) of only 10%. For soybean and wheat, the abiotic contribution to yield loss rises up to 69 and 82% respectively.*  In the light of this, the topic of abiotic stress is gaining more and more attention, and, not by chance, the resilience increase to climate change-induced stresses in crops is often mentioned among the objectives of regenerative agriculture. However, this attention does not necessarily lead to the adoption of targeted agricultural practices: while farmers normally use crop protection solutions to reduce losses due to biotic stress, solutions that address abiotic stress are often still overlooked.

 

*Source: Biochemistry and molecular biology of plants, B.B. Buchanan, W. Gruissem, R. L. Jones, American Association of Plant Physiologists.

On the left the estimated yield biotic losses, on the right the estimated yield abiotic losses. This is an average of 11 years of yield loss in corn due to biotic and abiotic stresses. We have 66% of estimated abiotic losses vs 10% due to biotic losses. While for biotic stress almost farmers use specific pesticides to save yield loss, for abiotic stress there is not the sensitivity to the problem and in the use of Biostimulants to preserve plant yield and food production.

 

How to overcome abiotic stress: the “address the stress” project

 

Address the stress is project dedicated to our Biologicals portfolio that promotes the sharing of knowledge on abiotic stress through the organization of targeted activities and dedicated forums. 
By means of discussions and deep dives led by subject matter experts, we aim to increase the awareness and knowledge of farmers on this issue and to promote the use of targeted solutions to help crop minimize the damage due to abiotic stress, with a particular focus on the use of biostimulants.

 

Biologicals are a valuable asset to protect your crops from abiotic stress

MEGAFOL™, the anti-stress and growth activator

MEGAFOL™, when applied in times of stress such as frost, root asphyxia, weeding, or hail, allows plants to quickly overcome the stress and improve growth.

Studies have shown that drought-stressed tomato plants treated with MEGAFOL™ produced a higher biomass and better results of chlorophyll fluorescence with respect of control plants, highlighting its positive effect in increasing tolerance to drought-induced abiotic stress.

It contributes to mitigating drought and heat stresses on the plant. A massive 2021 potato field trial in 2021 showed that crops treated with QUANTIS™ at precise application timings increased yields in fields under heat stress by an average of 2.2 tonnes per hectare.

ISABION®, a biostimulant, helps plants to better withstand cold stress. It has been proven that the product can prevent stress especially cold. ISABION® shows yield benefit in both quantity and quality. The product is flexible to be applied either by foliar, drench or soil application.

MC CREAM™ helps plants utilize light energy more efficiently, with a consequent increase of the photosynthetic activity, also in non-optimal light conditions. MC CREAM™ helps the plant by acting on the processes related to the production of vitamins and amino acids, which help protect against oxidative stress caused by light radiation. The biomolecules present inside MC CREAM™ stimulate also cell division and distension, increasing the growth of plant organs and fruit.

RETROSAL™ is a solution coming from the exclusive GeaPower technology (GEA216) that improves plant growth on saline soils. RETROSAL™ helps plants remain vigorous and to attain excellent yields even under high salinity stress conditions, by restoring plant health and water retention levels.

KENDAL ROOT™ works directly on the damaged root system, promoting a rapid vegetative restarting, increased physical resistance of the roots, and stimulate the growth of new ones.

Download the materials to know more about biologicals solutions help you in overcoming abiotic stresses