The microbiota revolution.

It is 12,000 years since humans ceased to be nomadic and settled on land where they could grow and thrive. As a consequence, we have had to find ways to obtain sustenance on a regular basis, and over time we have improved cultural practices and better understood the crops and pathogens that can put them at risk. Historically, apart from the fact that we became sedentary, we can point to two major milestones that have been decisive in the development of agriculture.

On the one hand, the Agricultural Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, which meant an important advance in the way farmland was managed, increasing the profitability of farms and leading to the appearance of the first mechanisations and the development and use of the first chemical products.

The second, more recent, would be the so-called Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, marked by an increase in productivity thanks to the selection of better adapted varieties and much more efficient cultivation techniques and phytosanitary treatments.

However, it is from this green revolution onwards that the suitability of chemical treatments began to be questioned due to the harmful effect they can have, not only on humans, but also on the useful fauna and flora of the environment.

Today there is no doubt about this, and the level of awareness is increasing, both socially and administratively. In fact, new restrictions on the use of certain chemical products are expected to come into force in the coming years. Change is no longer an option: it is a necessity.

The discovery and study of microorganisms (MO) dates back much further, but it was not until the 1970s that the reality of what happens at the microscopic level began to be understood and applications of beneficial MO in agriculture began to be developed. A whole world full of an almost infinite diversity of MOs living together in equilibrium was beginning to unfold before our eyes. And now, we are realising that all the chemical treatments we have been applying were breaking that balance. But there is still time to turn the situation around.

If there’s one thing we know about in LEV2050, it’s MO – people, as we like to call them. We keep reaching deeper levels of knowledg, and they never cease to amaze us.

In the latest studies we have carried out analysing the microbiological richness of soils, we have found that in those plots with better natural agronomic behaviour, the beneficial MOs keep the non-beneficial ones at bay, preserving the balance that guarantees the survival of the crop.

For example, Trichoderma is able to rapidly colonise a pruning wound, preventing the entry of wood fungi; Pseudomonas solubilises organic and mineral phosphorus blocked in the soil, making it available to the plant; Azospirillum brasilense acts as a biological nitrogen fixer; Bacillus megatherium facilitates the uptake of phosphorus and potassium. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus pumilus are highly effective against powdery mildew and downy mildew, while Pichia anomala or Bacillus subtilis are highly effective against botrytis. Bacillus thuringiensis is able to keep Lobesia botrana at bay. Yeasts with siderophores or zinc solubilisers… to name but a few examples.

All of these MOs may already be in our patch, we just need to find them and get them in sufficient populations to do their job well. How to carry out this task is part of our know-how at Lev2050.

Within our DNA is the objective of providing wineries and winegrowers with efficient solutions that guarantee not only the profitability of their operations, but also the sustainability of their environment. For this reason, we have spent years researching and developing fluidising media and bioreactors that allow us to achieve very high MO populations in the MO and its multiplication rate. The price barrier would be overcome.

We are facing a new era of agricultural management, and we are here to help you.

LEV2050

If you would like to know more about our products, our services or about LEV2050, do not hesitate to visit our website. There you will find all the information you are looking for. You can also contact our technical-sales department through our e-mail address (info@lev2050.com). We hope you liked it!