A Kerry company says it uses seaweed as an additive to help crops deal with climate change stresses.
Seaweed has long been known for its fertilising qualities on areas of the Atlantic coastline, and research is currently underway here to test its benefits in animal feed in reducing methane outputs
As The Irish Times reports, BioAtlantis in Tralee, Co Kerry has been working on development of natural compounds, extracted from renewable marine and terrestrial resources, to reduce stress in crops, animals and humans by strengthening natural defence systems.
The company is now marketing a product called SuperFifty Prime to help tackle what it calls “abiotic stress”.
“Some 70 per cent of crop losses are due to abiotic stress such as cold, drought, heat, waterlogging, salinity ….. while ten per cent are due to biotic stress such as plant diseases and pathogens,” BioAtlantis research manager Dr Kieran Guinan told the newspaper.
“Even on well-managed farms with full fertiliser and pesticide programmes, crops only reach around 75 per cent of their genetic potential,” he said.
Dr Sujeeth Neerakkal, who heads up plant research at BioAtlantis, says the product is a “highly innovative oxidative stress inhibitor that works by modulating gene expression and inducing a series of stress tolerance mechanisms”.
The company says the technology helps to “prime” crops and plans to tolerate and respond more efficiently to future stresses and potential damage.
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