Activities and Results

Since the beginning of the LIFE STIMUL project, 5 field trials campaigns have been conducted to assess the possibility offered by biostimulant technologies to reduce the use of agricultural inputs. In the framework of the project, since 2016, field trials were conducted on the following crops: corn, soybean, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and beetroot; and the following input reductions were studied: fertilizer, irrigation water, inoculant application and fungicide seed treatment. The consolidated results obtained on corn, sunflower and soybean, the three crops for which the most promising results were obtained are presented below.

The effects of the biostimulant treatment on grain yield are presented in Figure 1 for the three crops. The biostimulant was applied at a dose rate of 0.2 kg/qt of active ingredient on seeds for the different crops. The results presented in Figure 1 correspond to consolidated results encompassing four years of field trials (2017 - 2020) for corn and soybean and three campaigns (2018 - 2020) for sunflower. The trials were conducted in different European countries, more specifically in France, Italy, Hungary and Romania for corn, in France, Italy, Romania and Serbia for soybean and finally in France, Spain, Hungary and Romania for sunflower.  In total, 73 trials were conducted on corn, 35 trials on sunflower and 64 trials on soybean.

Figure 1: Field trials results on corn, sunflower and soybean (STIMUL project, 2017-2020)

For corn, the biostimulant triggered a relative yield increase of +4.2%, whereas a relative increase of +2.8% was observed for sunflower. Similar outcomes were observed for soybean results, with a relative yield increase equals to +3.8%. The relative increases are statistically significant, compared to the control treatment. As a result, we can conclude that the biostimulant treatment applied at 0.2 kg/qt on seeds triggered a significant yield increase on corn, sunflower and soybean, with a yield increase in the range of 3 - 4% depending on the crop.

The Syensqo biostimulant modifies the plant environment and metabolism, increasing root architecture by densifying secondary roots. This phenomenon was demonstrated at the laboratory scale with model experiments, as well as with field trials. Figure 2 shows observations made during the visit of a field trial on corn in Italy in 2018. The picture on the left shows a corn plant not treated with the biostimulant, while the picture on the right shows a corn plant treated with the biostimulant. Both clearly show that the biostimulant strengthens root development and maximizes plant establishment. Such a developed roots network enables an increase in nutrient and water uptake by the plant, and ultimately increases yield.
 

Figure 2: Influence of Syensqo biostimulant on the root system

For the field trials conducted on corn and sunflower, standard- and low-nitrogen input practices were compared to assess how fertilizer inputs might be able to be compensated by the use of the biostimulant seed treatment. Since 2017, 11 comparisons between full-nitrogen inputs and low-dosage rates of nitrogen (ranging from -30% to -50%) have been conducted on corn. For sunflower, 19 comparisons between full-nitrogen inputs and without nitrogen inputs were conducted over 3 years (2018 - 2020). Consolidated results are presented in Figure 3 for both crops. For corn, when averaged over the different trials, nitrogen inputs were reduced by 42%, triggering a relative yield loss of -8.7% for the untreated check. The addition of the biostimulant seed treatment compensated for a yield loss of 28%. Hence assuming a linear relationship, we could estimate that the biostimulant seed treatment could entirely compensate for a 12% reduction in nitrogen inputs. A similar analysis was conducted on sunflower leading to the conclusion that biostimulant could entirely compensate for a 18% reduction of nitrogen inputs.

Figure 3: Biostimulant seed treatment to compensate for the reduction of nitrogen inputs

In parallel, field trials were conducted to assess the possibility offered by Syensqo’s biostimulant to reduce irrigation inputs. Such studies were conducted on corn and soybean. Field trials with standard- and low-irrigation input practices were compared to assess how irrigation inputs might be able to be compensated by the use of the biostimulant seed treatment. In total, 15 comparisons between standard and low irrigation inputs were conducted on corn and 18 on soybean between 2017 and 2020. The consolidated results are presented in Figure 4. For corn (resp. soybean), when averaged over the different trials, irrigation inputs were reduced by 44% (resp. -50%), triggering a relative yield loss of -8.7% (resp. -11.7%) for the untreated check. For both crops, this yield loss can be partially compensated by the application of the biostimulant treatment. Hence, assuming a linear relationship, for corn, we could estimate that the biostimulant seed treatment could entirely compensate for a 37% reduction in irrigation inputs, whereas for soybean the biostimulant could compensate for a reduction by 21% of irrigation inputs.
 

Figure 4: Biostimulant seed treatment to compensate for the reduction of irrigation inputs