Source: BIOMINERAL SYSTEMS LLC submitted to
NITROGEN BIOFERTILIZER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1012625
Grant No.
2017-33610-26974
Cumulative Award Amt.
$100,000.00
Proposal No.
2017-00195
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2017
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2019
Grant Year
2017
Program Code
[8.12]- Small and Mid-Size Farms
Recipient Organization
BIOMINERAL SYSTEMS LLC
3315 BREMEN HWY
MISHAWAKA,IN 46544
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The proposed project pertains to the development of a novel nitrogen biofertilizercomprising special seeds and seed treatments to reduce the need for N fertilizers incrop production by 40 - 50%. Sustainable production of food and energy crops is criticalto ensure global food security. The proposed innovation (BioCat-N) will facilitate theutilization of organic nitrogen pool (not otherwise readily bioavailable) in acid andalkaline soils by crops to satisfy their nitrogen needs. The proposed research is uniquein a number of ways. It targets organic nitrogen and proposes a sustainable way toprovide for plant N needs while enhancing soil quality. Organic nitrogen constitutes asignificant pool of soil nitrogen arising from applied manure in organic farming andimmobilization of applied and/or residual inorganic synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Currentresearch and our own preliminary data substantiates organic (protein) nitrogen uptakeas free amino acids and oligopeptides as an important N uptake pathway in plants.Furthermore, the proposed project develops a nitrogen biofertilizer product based on adetailed characterization of N bioavailability thus helping reduce the need for syntheticN fertilizers while still reliably obtaining optimal crop growth. To the best of ourknowledge, no current US patents are directly related to the proposed research andproduct development and do not infringe or compromise the resulting intellectualproperty.The proposed research addresses the key societal challenge of Global Food Securityand Hunger and the need for sustainable food production by development of methods/technologies to reduce or eliminate the usage of synthetic fertilizers. It also enablesbiofuel industry to become an important and commercially viable source of renewableenergy. It will enhance international competitiveness of US Agricultural Industry byreducing input costs and enhancing sustainability of rural farm economies. It will supportincreased opportunities and improve quality of life by making smaller size land holdingprofitable. If the project is successful, BioCat-N will revolutionize corn, soybean, wheat,and sorghum production and set a precedent for the sustainable production of othercrops in the U.S. It will also revolutionize and diversify the synthetic N fertilizer industry.By helping with sustainable N management, it should also dramatically reduce costs forremediation of surface water quality and treatment of adverse human health effects.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2051510100020%
2050110110020%
2051820206160%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1510 - Corn; 0110 - Soil; 1820 - Soybean;

Field Of Science
1100 - Bacteriology; 2061 - Pedology; 1000 - Biochemistry and biophysics;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to develop a biofertilizer as an environmentally sustainable, and cost-effectivemeans of markedly increasing efficacy of utilization of animal manure, and organic nitrogen as a sourceof nitrogen for plants; and as a means of increasing the efficiency of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.Objective 1: To determine inoculation efficacy of the biofertilizer in lab studies for corn, soybean, sorghum, and wheatObjective 2: To characterize biofertilizer efficacy for corn and soybean growth in greenhouse soil pot studiesObjective 3: To establish efficacy of the biofertilizer in small field plot trials for corn
Project Methods
Efforts:Development of a biofertilizer that will enable the farmers to reduce N chemical fertilizer application while maintaing optimum yieldsEnhancing environmental sustainability, protecting surface and ground water quality, and improving the viability of small and medium size farmsEvaluation:Completion of lab studies showing inoculation efficacy of biofertilizer in corn, soybean, sorghum, and wheatCompletion of greenhouse soil pot studies showing biofertilizer efficacy in corn and soybanCompletion of small plot field trials for showing biofertilizer efficacy in corn

Progress 09/01/17 to 04/30/19

Outputs
(N/A)

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Under goal 1, we tested inoculation efficacy of BioCat-N in feild corn, sweet corn, and wheat. Soybean was excluded because it is a legume crop and sorghum was excluded because wheat has more of a market share, locally. We excluded objective 2 and instead conducted additional field trials of sweet corn to serve as a model of efficacy in sweet corn and also in other vegetable crops to benefit small and medium farmers. We implemented objective 3 as planned. Field corn, especially silage corn is grown by small and medium growers here in Indiana and has a very large market locally here in Indiana, and Illinois. With our carefully positioned field trials, we aimed to build a strong, enduring, and also growing market share for our product. The Phase I effort was carefully organized to establish the technical feasibility of BioCat-N and consisted of: 1) testing inoculation efficacy of BioCat-N in commercial varieties of field corn, sweet corn, and wheat; 2) small plot trials of field corn in Illinois; and 3) small plot trials of sweet corn in Arizona. The inoculation efficacy tests were successful. The field corn trials showed a 5 bushel increase in yield at 10% reduced fertilizer application and the same yield as the untreated control (@ recommeded rate of nitrogen fertilizer application) at 25% reduced fertilizer application while the untreated control at at 25% reduced fertilizer application lost 18 bushels in yield. Similarly, the sweet corn trial showed that BioCat-N treated seeds at 50% reduced fertilizer application rate had the same yield as the untreated control with full recommnded nitrogen fertilizer application while the untreated control with no nitrogen fertilizer application lost >51 bushels in yield. BioCat-N is a patented technology (US patent pending) and proved successful in field trials and the product is ready for registration. Additional patents will be filed to further protect intellectual property. Some grower trials were completed in 2019 and the product will be sold to conventional and organic growers starting 2020.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

    Outputs
    Target Audience:We are in the process of updating our website to reach potential customers, investors, and stakeholders. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PI has benefited from the opportunity of directly engaging in microbial work and also in investigating labeling possibilities using FISH. She has also gained expertise in planning for field trials and in coordinating and conducting field trials. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We are in the process of updating our website with relevant product validation results to reach investors and potential customers as well as potential commercialization partner companies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting period will focus on wrapping up the experimental work, processing all the field trial results, commercialization efforts and Phase II proposal submission and all the tasks pertaining to this submission

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: The objective 1 was revised based on market research and on feasibility of scale up to field trials and now includes field corn and sweet corn only. Soybean was excluded because it is a legume and its nitrogen needs are much less (1/2 to 1/3) than that of corn. Wheat was excluded because nitrogen use efficiency is directly related to its protein content which is a critical price determing factor of wheat and is a subject of much research. We therefore felt that wheat would be a better addressed as part of a separate project that can be scaled to field trials for wheat. Similarly, sorghum an energy crop would be better addressed as a separate project. In lieu of soybean, sorghum, and wheat, we included a vegetable 'sweet corn' which is an important crop different from field corn yet fits under the general umbrella of corn. Under objective 1, we tested inoculation efficacy of two different cultures in field corn seeds. As part of objective 1 and in preparation for field trials, we tested germination efficacy of field corn and sweet corn and developed new approaches for inoculating field corn and sweet corn. Objective 2: This was not originally part of Phase I work plan. However, this was included in the project initiation but has now been removed. Based on developing the commercialization plan, we realized that greenhouse trials will not add to product validation. In addition, funds are depleted and will not support this additional objective. Objective 3: As part of objective 3, we conducted field trials for testing efficacy of our nitrogen biofertiizer in sweet corn and field corn. Sweet corn trials conducted in Yuma AZ are complete and field corn trials in Indiana/Illinois are ongoing.

    Publications