A new soil-optimised addition to Bayer’s Serenade portfolio, Serenade Soil Activ, is set to provide Australian growers with a new tool to increase nutrient availability and uptake, resulting in improved root and plant growth.

The development of Serenade Soil Activ involved Dr Denise Manker and her team at Bayer’s Biologics business in Sacramento, California USA going ‘back to the drawing board’ to create a new fermentation process.

“By changing how we approach fermentation, we can really change the outcome of the product, and in this case, the aim was for a high concentration of spores to be produced which were ready to colonise the root surfaces and ameliorate soil resources really quickly,” Dr Manker said.

“These new fast-acting spores in Serenade Soil Activ mean that once they're put into the soil, they quickly move to the root surface and start colonising.

“It's happening faster, and it's also a more luxurious colonisation of the root surfaces to establish that plant relationship early and really getting the plant up to its maximum productivity by means of access to the soil resources.

“This quicker ability of the spores to colonise the root surfaces can result in many benefits for plant productivity. They quickly establish a symbiotic relationship with plant roots and that results in better nutrient uptake, and that can increase harvest quality,” she said.

As a result of the unique fermentation process, there have been changes in the germination proteins on the spores, and this converts Serenade Soil Activ into a soil-optimised product. It’s an evolution from Serenade Prime, which can be used as a foliar control of bacterial and fungal diseases in some crops.

High concentration = faster uptake

Dr Manker said the goal was to have a high concentration of spores that can rapidly colonise the plant root surfaces, start that symbiotic relationship, and help the plant produce the things it needs to do to help with nutrient uptake and increase the soil microbiome health.

“The soil microbiome – being the microorganisms in the soil environment – is a critical contributor to plant health and productivity.

“The way the soil microbiome improves plant health is through a symbiotic relationship in which when plants are healthy, they put root exudates out to attract the right community of microbes into their soil environment,” Dr Manker said.

“And we know that in the presence of Serenade Soil Activ, the plant improves its microbiome, and that helps with nutrient uptake, which helps the plant defend against diseases, and all kinds of different aspects because of the root exudates that are produced.

“The early colonisation Serenade Soil Activ provides also means there's actually more organic acid production and this results in better mobility of certain kinds of nutrients, such as phosphorus.

“When phosphorus is in a plant-available form, it means that you get better root development and therefore better plant health.

“Among the benefits of Serenade Soil Activ are that we've managed to get a fivefold increase in the spore production with this new fermentation process,” Dr Manker said.

Reduced application rates

“That reduces the use rate, so now we're down to one to two litres per hectare, and that increases the flowability and the ability of the product to get through fine-mesh screens in spray filters, making it easier to apply.”

Importantly, Serenade Soil Activ will work across a wide range of crops and has also been proven to work in cooler climates.

“In our greenhouse experiments, we see quick-acting colonisation even in cooler soils with Serenade Soil Activ,” Dr Manker said. “We get colonisation and so those plants are ready to grow better and increase nutrient take-up, leading to improved health and harvest quality.

“Serenade Soil Activ is available for growers to use in their soil applications of many horticultural crops, tree crops, so we're very excited about the launch of this new product in Australia.”