Proof from tomatoes that biofertilizers increase yields—minus the environmental costs
anthropocenemagazine
2024.10.11
Using eco-friendly fertilizers instead of synthetic chemicals produces high quality tomato crops with competitive yields, a team of Italian scientists has shown.
Their new study considered two groups of fertilizer alternatives: a nutrient-rich algae-infused concoction; and fertilizers made with symbiotic root microbes like fungi and bacteria that fix nutrients from the soil to increase crops’ uptake. These alternatives, known broadly as ‘biofertillizers’, can be made without the emissions-intensive process required to make conventional synthetic fertilizers, and can significantly reduce crops’ need for these chemical additives in the first place.
The researchers tested their alternatives on tomato fields in Italy, where they subjected growing tomato plants to different combinations of the two: some tomatoes received one of two fertilizers through drip irrigation, containing a mix of growth-promoting fungi or bacteria; some were treated with the algae infusion; and others received a combination of both microbial and algal fertilizers. In each case, the fertilizer-treated crops were compared with tomatoes that had received no fertilizers at all.
Using eco-friendly fertilizers instead of synthetic chemicals produces high quality tomato crops with competitive yields, a team of Italian scientists has shown.
Their new study considered two groups of fertilizer alternatives: a nutrient-rich algae-infused concoction; and fertilizers made with symbiotic root microbes like fungi and bacteria that fix nutrients from the soil to increase crops’ uptake. These alternatives, known broadly as ‘biofertillizers’, can be made without the emissions-intensive process required to make conventional synthetic fertilizers, and can significantly reduce crops’ need for these chemical additives in the first place.
The researchers tested their alternatives on tomato fields in Italy, where they subjected growing tomato plants to different combinations of the two: some tomatoes received one of two fertilizers through drip irrigation, containing a mix of growth-promoting fungi or bacteria; some were treated with the algae infusion; and others received a combination of both microbial and algal fertilizers. In each case, the fertilizer-treated crops were compared with tomatoes that had received no fertilizers at all.
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