Biofertilizers: an agroecological alternative for production

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

Congreso; III Congreso Internacional de Productos Naturais; 2022

Agroecologyis a discipline that provides the basic ecological principles to study andmanage agroecosystems that are productive and economically viable, and at thesame time be conservative of natural and cultural resources and socially fair.Application of beneficial microbiomes as biofertilizers or bio-inputs inagroecology practices has emerged as innovative and environment friendlytechnology for improving soil fertility and plant growth. In the last years, inthe context of environmental protection and increased demand for chemical-freefood products, increasing numbers of producers in Argentina and many othercountries started to make biofertilizers in their establishments. Theseproducts made from plant remains, animal manure or milk, bacteria, and fungiare applied in agricultural production as alternatives for crop nutrition in amore ecological, sustainable, and accessible way, allowing more stable cropproduction and prices. Biological inputs have the advantage of maintaining themacro and micronutrients of the soil through processes such as nitrogenfixation, the solubilisation of phosphates, mineralization, the contribution ofsubstances that regulate plant growth, the production of antibiotics, and thebiodegradation of organic matter. Our working group has spent the last yearsstudying the beneficial bacteria that interact with plants as well as theireffects on them. In addition, during the last year we have been carrying out aproject to characterize bio-inputs for agroecological use, reinforcingknowledge about this area of study.