Seaweed Science
Since the 1950’s, farming and growing practices have focused on soil chemistry to balance the ‘soil test’ – high input, synthetic compounds and fertilisers – to increase production and yields. While the initial results were good, we are increasingly aware of the long-term effects these practices have on the quality of our soil, our productive land, te Taiao (our environment) and our waterways.
Healthy soil is the basis of life and sustainable agriculture and horticulture, as it is the necessary foundation for healthy plants and animals.
AgriSea Soil and Plant biostimulants work with the soil biology in an area around plant roots known as the rhizosphere (from the Greek rhiza meaning ‘root’).
Here, soil-dwelling bacteria and fungi produce enzymes that release minerals held in soil colloids and organic matter, then deliver them to plants through the root hairs. In return, plants provide microbes with energy produced by photosynthesis and delivered via root exudates. It is a natural exchange that keeps the life of the soil flourishing, builds soil structure and boosts disease resistance in plants. But it won’t happen if misuse of synthetic fertiliser puts soil microbes and fungi out of a job. Soil borne microbes and fungi are like all organisms, they are sensitive to changes in the environment that they inhabit. Overuse of synthetic fertiliser affects the chemical environment which negatively impacts these microbes and therefore the functions they perform.
Biostimulant means ‘stimulate biology’. Using a biostimulant will increase the amount of exudates coming out of plant roots and therefore stimulate the fungal energy channel in soil. If we use fertiliser excessively, it reduces the need for fungal association with plants. This then impacts on the physical characteristics of soil performance; disrupting the water and gas cycles.
Your fertiliser management will be important, and your grazing management will be important to optimise photosynthesis. So talk to our consultants about your unique farming business and how you can incorporate the AgriSea system to help build life back into your soil.
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How AgriSea Works
Since the 1950’s, farming and growing practices have focused on soil chemistry to balance the ‘soil test’ – high input, synthetic compounds and fertilisers – to increase production and yields. While the initial results were good, we are increasingly aware of the long-term effects these practices have on the quality of our soil, our productive land, te Taiao (our environment) and our waterways.
Healthy soil is the basis of life and sustainable agriculture and horticulture, as it is the necessary foundation for healthy plants and animals.
AgriSea Soil and Plant biostimulants work with the soil biology in an area around plant roots known as the rhizosphere (from the Greek rhiza meaning ‘root’).
Here, soil-dwelling bacteria and fungi produce enzymes that release minerals held in soil colloids and organic matter, then deliver them to plants through the root hairs. In return, plants provide microbes with energy produced by photosynthesis and delivered via root exudates.
It is a natural exchange that keeps the life of the soil flourishing, builds soil structure and boosts disease resistance in plants.
But it won’t happen if misuse of synthetic fertiliser puts soil microbes and fungi out of a job.
Biostimulant means ‘stimulate biology’. Using a biostimulant will increase the amount of exudates coming out of plant roots and therefore stimulate the fungal energy channel in soil.
If we use fertiliser excessively, it reduces the need for fungal association with plants. This then impacts on the physical characteristics of soil performance; disrupting the water and gas cycles.
Your fertiliser management will be important, and your grazing management will be important to optimise photosynthesis. So talk to our consultants about your unique farming business and how you can incorporate the AgriSea system to help build life back into your soil.
How To Reduce Nitrogen
The industry is seeing increasing pressure to reduce Nitrogen inputs. Increasing consumer awareness and knowledge of what we’re eating and the environmental impact of how it has been produced, means farmers/ growers are more and more mindful of what is being applied and the impact it has.
The question is, how can Nitrogen inputs be reduced without necessarily having a large drop in production?
Microbial life in your soil can fix a significant amount of Nitrogen. Looking after your microbial populations in the soil will enable your plants to fix more Nitrogen. By looking after the soil microbiology you can not only save money on Nitrogen as it is being captured from the atmosphere for you, but you will also meet increasing regulatory requirements to apply less Nitrogen fertilisers.
Traditional NPKS fertilisers are often delivered in an acidic form or a form that delivers a pH spike in the soil, unsettling soil pH stability and hence the soil microbiological environment.
AgriSea Pasture/ Foliar Nutrition
…increases photosynthesis in plants and therefore, root exudates from the plants, are increased. These root exudates are carbohydrates and feed the soil microbiology, feeding into the fungal energy network.
AgriSea Soil Nutrition
…feeds the soil microbiology directly. AgriSea Soil Nutrition feeds the microbial life in the soil giving it the range of nutrients required for your microbial life to thrive.
If you have been using a lot of Nitrogen fertiliser for a long time the plant’s ecosystem will be used to this and unable to obtain Nitrogen from the atmosphere. Instead of using the soil microbiology to fix the Nitrogen it has been taking it up directly from the applied, water soluble, nitrogen. This has meant the plants have not been keeping the nitrogen fixing soil biology alive and it will take a while to get the biology working again.
Due to this it is recommended that you make gradual reductions in your Nitrogen applications as it can take several years for the Nitrogen fixing bacteria to really start working well again.
Marine Sea Bioactives
The marine environment has become increasingly recognised as an important and untapped source of marine bioactive compounds for industry application. While traditional biodiscovery has focused on terrestrial organisms, trees, plants and land based organisms, there is an increasing interest in the highly biodiverse oceans. It has also been recognised that, due to the harsh nature of the marine environment, marine organisms host a unique chemical diversity which is of interest to biodiscovery.
‘Biodiscovery’ is the field which looks at attributes from nature for potential commercial applications. Biological features of relevance can include chemical compounds, genes, materials, or whole organisms, and can have applications in various industries including agriculture, forestry, pharmaceuticals, horticulture, etc.
Seaweeds are a particularly unique source of marine bioactive compounds. It is thought that this is due to their lack of physical defense structures and so they must survive by producing chemical defense mechanisms.
Because any chemicals they produce into the water will be immediately diluted, the compounds are very potent and have a highly targeted mode of action. These features are of high relevance for bioactive discovery.
Importance of seaweeds to the environment
Seaweeds in the marine environment are referred to as ‘keystone species’, a species that has a disproportionately large influence on its environment relative to its population. As primary producers they produce oxygen which is an important byproduct of photosynthesis as most other non-photosynthetic organisms depend on it for their own existence. Seaweeds also play a role in the sequestration of nutrients from the marine environment, they are an important food source for higher trophic levels and provide habitat for many economically important fisheries.
