The Bio-Inoculant Marketplace:
Who’s Trying, Who’s Buying, and Who’s Lying?
When I first got involved with beneficial mycorrhizal
fungi several years ago and realized what these microorganisms
could do for agriculture, I was wildly
enthusiastic about the marketing prospects. After all, here was a natural
method that promised to grow high-yielding, disease-resistant plants without
contaminating water supplies, without having to apply heavy doses of expensive
fertilizer, and without depleting our food-producing soils. At the time,
I thought, “Wow - If just 5% of the corn farmers in Kansas convert
to biology-based methods, it will be a billion-dollar market! How will suppliers
ever be able to propagate enough of the fungi to satisfy the demand once the
word gets out?”
Well, seven years later, with the added wisdom of actual experience, I now see
that nothing short of major yield failures or government restrictions on excessive
fertilizing will move large farmers away from chemistry-based practices. The
cost and complexity of restoring biological activity to huge acreages of croplands
makes for a pretty overwhelming task, no matter how great the long-term
soil and yield improvements might be.
Yes, the interest level in biological practices is increasing; Many growers around
the world are now routinely applying bio-inoculants to crop plants and ornamentals.
Dozens of university and USDA researchers have published thousands of articles
to describe favorable test results...But we’re a long way from getting
even one-half of 1% of those Kansas corn farmers on board.
So, if the large acreage, lower value crop farmers are not great prospects (yet),
then where is the market for bio-products? Based on our general experience,
two distinct factors produce orders - poor soils and higher value plants.
For growers with sand who are having problems holding moisture and nutrients
in the root zone, the mycorrhizal fungi can perform miracles by clumping together
sand particles and promoting the development of an underground biomass. Also,
soils that are too salty, overloaded with some element, or with pH levels that
are outside the acceptable range for plants are all excellent
candidates for using biological rather than chemical methods.
Grain crops can certainly benefit from having mycorrhizal fungi in the soil;
but grapes, citrus, avocados, melons, stone fruit, tomatoes, peppers, and other
market vegetables are better candidates from an economic standpoint. A
one-time inoculation of seeds or transplants can produce a quick and
significant monetary payback.
Of course, landscape plants and turfgrass (especially on golf courses or in stadiums)
also fall into the higher-value category and we have many customers in those
areas. For example, check out the grass in the Baltimore Raven’s
stadium next time they are on TV.
Combining the above factors, you can see that valuable plants being grown in
problem soils represents the most immediate market for inoculants. I could
add another consideration as well: The larger the acreage, the more difficult
it will be to get off the chemical treadmill. But it can be done.
So, home gardeners, landscapers, market growers, and orchards/vineyards will probably
be the “early adapters” of soil-biology methods. Actually,
I see absolutely no reason why any home gardener or landscaper should ever rely
on chemistry when it is so simple for them to create wonderful soil conditions
with beneficial organisms. These are not, repeat, not places to copy
chem-farmers.
There have recently been good articles about mycorrhizae in “Mother
Earth News” and “The American Gardener” (the publication of
the American Horticultural Society), and I expect there will be many more in
coming months. Hopefully, all this favorable publicity will not bring fast-buck
artists out of the woodwork, making exaggerated claims for the fungi and turning
off potential users. Read the small print on the labels folks. Look for
guarantees of species and spore counts - and don’t pay Endo prices for
Ecto spores! (Those of you who know one from the other will understand.)
Good growing, friends,
Don Chapman
President, BioOrganics, Inc.
www.bio-organics.com
Sept., 2003
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