Development of New Biological Seed Treatments for Canadian Crop Production

A&L Biologicals（A&L）位于安大略省伦敦，是一家创新的、研究驱动的公司，为全球范围内的农业、环境和食品与制药等行业提供服务。在农业领域，A&L为土壤、植物组织、饲料、肥料和水提供全面的分析服务。A&L还支持一个专注于土壤健康和产品研发的团队，这些产品可以支持可持续和再生农业。这包括可以替代由不可再生资源制成的传统肥料和杀虫剂的作物投入。下一代再生农业产品的一个类别是基于种子处理技术，其中作物种子被植物有益微生物包覆。农民对生物种子处理的需求越来越大。 A&L的研究人员最近发表了一些结果，证明了生物种子处理在将生产力低下的农业土壤转化为高生产力方面的效用。然而，生物处理的技术挑战仍有待评估，例如开发种子包衣配方，以支持有益微生物在作物根区定殖和持续存在的能力。 A&L生物制品公司与兰顿的生物工业过程研究中心合作，旨在开发和商业化新的生物种子处理。该项目的成功提供了A&L的信息和技术，这对他们将新的生物种子处理推向市场的目标至关重要。预计到拟议项目结束时，A&L将准备进行实地试验。 此外，更广泛的农业投入行业也将受益于可持续和再生农业的研究、开发和商业化活动的增加，预计将这类新的生育产品推向市场。

A&L Biologicals (A&L), located in London ON, is an innovative, research driven company that serves a wide range of industries including Agriculture, Environmental and Food & Pharma-globally. Within Agriculture, A&L provides comprehensive analytical services for soil, plant tissue, feed, fertilizer, and water. A&L also supports a team that focused its research and development on soil health and products that can support sustainable and regenerative agriculture. This includes crop inputs that can replace conventional fertilizers and pesticides made from non-renewable resources. One category of next generation regenerative agricultural products is based on seed treatment technology whereby crop seeds are coated with plant beneficial microbes. Biological seed treatments are increasingly in demand by farmers. A&L researchers recently published results demonstrating the utility of biological seed treatments in transforming agricultural soil with poor productivity to high productivity. However, technical challenges to biological treatments remain to be assessed, such as development of seed coating formulants that support the ability of the beneficial microbes to colonize and persist in the root zone of crops. A&L Biologicals, in partnership with Lambton's Bio-Industrial Process Research Centre, aims to develop and commercialize new biological seed treatments. Success of this project provide A&L information and techniques critical to their goal of bringing to market new biological seed treatments. It is expected that by the end of the proposed project, A&L will be ready for field trials. In addition, the broader agricultural input industry will also benefit from the increased research, development and commercialization activity in sustainable and regenerative agriculture that bringing this new class of fertility products to market is expected to generate.