Biofertilizers: an agroecological alternative for production

HIRSCH, MAILÉN; BURGES, PABLO L.; VILLARREAL, NATALIA M.; MARINA, MARÍA

Montevideo

Congreso; Congreso Nacional de Biociencias; 2022

Agroecology is a discipline that provides the basic ecological principles to study and manage agroecosystems thatare productive and economically viable, and at the same time be conservative of natural and cultural resourcesand socially fair. Application of beneficial microbiomes as biofertilizers or bio-inputs in agroecology practices hasemerged as innovative and environment friendly technology for improving soil fertility and plant growth. In thelast years, in the context of environmental protection and increased demand for chemical-free food products,increasing numbers of producers in Argentina and many other countries started to make biofertilizers in theirestablishments. These products made from plant remains, animal manure or milk, bacteria, and fungi are appliedin agricultural production as alternatives for crop nutrition in a more ecological, sustainable, and accessible way,allowing more stable crop production and prices. Biological inputs have the advantage of maintaining the macroand micronutrients of the soil through processes such as nitrogen fixation, the solubilisation of phosphates,mineralization, the contribution of substances that regulate plant growth, the production of antibiotics, and thebiodegradation of organic matter. Our working group has spent the last years studying the beneficial bacteriathat interact with plants as well as their effects on them. In addition, during the last year we have been carryingout a project to characterize bio-inputs for agroecological use, reinforcing knowledge about this area of study.