Novel technology harnesses the power of microbes

Manawatu-based H&T Agronomics has teamed up with a Californian ag tech company to launch a new microbial seed treatment here this season. 

“This technology offers a new opportunity to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use in New Zealand agriculture, delivering both economic and environmental benefits while maintaining crop performance,” says H&T managing director Paul Oliver. 

AlwaysN comes from BioConsortia and will be available for maize, cereals, brassicas and pasture seed.

The two companies say they’ve conducted successful field trials in NZ since 2023, demonstrating nitrogen-replacement results consistent with earlier trials conducted since 2021 in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Europe.

“Our proprietary microbes effectively colonise crop roots, ensuring there is always nitrogen available to influence crop yield,” explains BioConsortia
CEO Marcus Meadows-Smith.

“These microbes remain active in the root zone throughout the growing season, converting atmospheric nitrogen into plant-accessible forms even after synthetic fertilisers dissipate.”

The treatment boasts a shelf life exceeding two years and maintains on-seed stability for an additional two years, surpassing industry norms. 

“Our use of Gram-positive microbes, known for their inherent stability and reliability as root colonisers, underpins this breakthrough,” explained Dr. Hong Zhu, senior vice president of R&D at BioConsortia. 

“Through our proprietary R&D platform, we’ve unlocked the nitrogen-fixing potential of these microbes, creating ideal candidates for seed treatment products.”

BioConsortia’s flexible microbe discovery platform played a pivotal role in this innovation, it says. 

“Given NZ’s regulatory restrictions on gene-edited organisms, BioConsortia identified wild-type microbes from its extensive library that naturally fix nitrogen. 

“These microbes, with intrinsic genetic traits enabling nitrogen fixation, deliver reliable yield performance.”