The product is intended for foliar application to a crop.
“Its chemical characteristics, such as the nanometric size, allow a more efficient absorption by the leaves and, inside the plant, activates essential metabolic routes. The main benefits are: increased photosynthesis due to greater use of light, more efficient activation of enzymes that provide energy for the plant, greater development of roots, greater use of water and nutrients,” explained Juscimar Silva, a researcher at Embrapa.
Arboline has properties that would fall under the categories of biofertilizer, in terms of aiding the uptake of nutrients, or biostimulant, in the sense of providing resistance to abiotic stress.
"The technology increases plant resistance to many types of stresses, especially drought stress, constituting a very efficient system for biostimulation and nutrient delivery to plants. The product consists of carbonaceous nanoparticles, containing functional groups that can act as nutrient carriers for the plants. It acts as a fertilizer by offering macros and micronutrients necessary for the growth of vegetables, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc, for example,” according to Krilltech, the spin-out company that has emerged from the development of the technology.
Krilltech is aiming to create disruptive solutions based on “green nanotechnology”. According to Marcelo Rodrigues, Krilltech's founder and technological advisor, agronomic tests showed physiological responses with significant increases in photosynthetic rate and efficiency in use of water and nutrients that “directly reflected in productivity”, with increases of up to 20% (tomato), 21% (soybean), 33% (beans) and 12.5% in wheat.
The use of nanotechnology in bio-inputs is still at an early stage in the Brazil. Diego Stone, CEO of Krilltech, reveals that Arboline is completely non-toxic for the soil biota, aquatic life, insects, and animals and is non-bioaccumulative. It will be marketed in the form of an emulsion to be diluted before application. Due to its origin in carbonaceous matrices, the product is positioned for use in conventional, organic production systems, urban farms, and protected production (indoor and outdoor).
New AG International contributor Leonardo Gottems