Growers will feed roughly 9.7 billion people by 2050 — that’s 2 billion more people than we have on Earth today. It’s a haunting statistic we’ve all seen time and time again. Adding to that pressure, producers are combating environmental concerns alongside increasing pest and disease issues. What can growers do to enhance their yield while sustaining their land for future generations? The answer may be in biosolutions.
“Biosolutions are products that are naturally derived from nature,” said Emily Smith, UPL Technical Service Manager. “They can be plant health products, biofungicides, bioinsecticides, biostimulants and bionutrition products.”
The list of challenges biosolutions can help solve include:
- Improved soil health and nutrient-use efficiency.
- Vigorous and uniform crop emergence.
- Hearty vegetative development, structure and photosynthesis.
- Enhanced and earlier flowering.
- Improved harvest quality and shelf life.
- Increased net marketable yield and grower profitability.
- Protecting plants from pest and disease damage.
- Managing pesticide residue.
- Resistance management.
- Meeting sustainability needs and objectives of grower customers.
While biosolutions have been predominantly used in organic production, they are becoming more widely adopted in conventional settings as well. Smith said the UPL ProNutiva program approach of pairing biosolutions with other crop protection products have even increased efficacy of conventional products and provides a more sustainable approach that is beneficial for grower’s needs as well as the environment.
Biosolutions “usually have no Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) issues,” Smith said. “They also have a short pre-harvest interval so it’s really helpful when you have disease and insect pressure at the end of the year. They can fit really nicely at the end of the program.”
Growers concerned with resistance can let out a sigh of relief when considering the preventative products. Smith explained the reduced resistance from the use of biosolutions allows growers to “use their conventional products that much more.”
Like most things in life, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach with biosolutions. Smith encourages each grower to evaluate the needs of their operation and reach out to a local retailer or UPL sales representative to find the UPL product that’s the best fit. To hear more about biosolutions, listen to Smith talk with Ag Net West here.
Want to learn more about UPL’s biosolutions portfolio? Check out products such as VACCIPLANT® Plant Defense Stimulant and PH-D® Fungicide.
