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US-based ag-tech company BioConsortia has advanced its nitrogen-fixing microbes for row crops, which displace nitrogen fertiliser and improve yield. BioConsortia specialises in the discovery, design and licensing of advanced microbial products, to mitigate the ecological footprint of agriculture while maintaining – and improving – crop yields. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, and while it is abundant in the atmosphere, most plants cannot use it directly. Nitrogen-fixing microbes have the unique ability to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can absorb and utilise for growth. By developing products containing these nitrogen-fixing microbes, BioConsortia aims to enhance the nitrogen supply available to crops, improving their growth and productivity. Traditional farming practices often rely heavily on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers to meet the nitrogen needs of crops. By developing microbial products that can replace or supplement synthetic nitrogen fertilisers, BioConsortia provides farmers with a sustainable alternative that reduces reliance on chemical inputs while maintaining or increasing crop yields. The company, which conducted "hundreds" of field trials last year, found that its seed treatment products facilitated levels of nitrogen replacement that "met or exceeded" performance expectations across various row crops including corn, wheat, rice and cotton. This highlights the potential of BioConsortia's nitrogen-fixing products in addressing environmental issues related to fertiliser runoff and overuse in crops globally. BioConsortia's CEO Marcus Meadows-Smith said: “This technology, based on proprietary microbes that effectively colonise the roots of a wide variety of crops, enables growers to optimise their fertiliser use strategy. Since the microbes remain in the root zone throughout the growing season, they ensure there is always nitrogen available to influence crop yield." He continued: "Even when synthetic nitrogen fertiliser has dissipated, these microbes are still working to convert nitrogen from the air to a form easily taken up by plants". BioConsortia's nitrogen-fixing seed products demonstrate shelf and seed stability lasting for over two years. Hong Zhu, SVP of R&D for BioConsortia, added: “We can offer the extended shelf- and seed-life products because our platform is focused on gram-positive microbes. We made our job as microbial product designers much more complex because gram-positive microbes are not generally known for their nitrogen-fixing functionality." Zhu explained how the company used its R&D platform to discover and improve the nitrogen-fixing capabilities of gram-positive microbes, demonstrating their inherent stability and reliable root colonisation, which making them ideal for seed treatment products. The durability of BioConsortia's exclusive microbes, when applied to fertiliser granules, has been demonstrated to last beyond 40 months. This extends new possibilities for their application, including in-season side-dressing or in-furrow usage.