b'Wading Through the Biologicals HypeTHERE IS A BUZZ in the industry right now regarding bio- and some countries have restrictions on selecting and ship-logical microorganisms for seed treatment.ping out living material (South America, for example), so The tradition is old, but the hype is newand ingetting support from various international bodies for a test some ways its still the Wild West in this particular prod- result that shows bacterial growth can be tricky.uct category. Raise Your Standards. Since biologicals are made up Living organisms have been used for decades by farm- of living organisms, storage and handling can be trickyers for crop productionin Eastern Europe in the 20thmake sure that the production of bacteria is handled in a century it was very common since the cost was lowerprofessional, sterile laboratory and stored sterile, so you than buying fertilizers, for example.dont have contamination that impacts efficacy.Historically, results have been hit-and-miss. This isThere are some certification bodies that exist, and you changing. Todays scientific advances allow us to harnessshould look for biological products approved by these these organisms with great precision. institutions.The list of benefits you can achieve from using these living organisms is long. You get advantages like healthy plant growth and natural plant protection, sustainable microbiological enrichment and revitalization of the soil, deposition of bacteria at the plant roots, supply of nutri-ents like N & P to the plant, production of growth hor-mones that stimulate sprout growth in width and length, increase in the resistance of plant-to-plant pathogenic microorganisms, activation of other bacterial species in the direct vicinity of the plants and an increase in organic mass due to microorganisms.Seed treatment with biological organisms combined with pelletizing presents some great opportunities for NoroGard, which inspired me do some non-scientific research into whats on the market. I am a firm believer in if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so when looking into these products and trying to find a way to separate high-quality biologi-cal products from the less serious, I found some useful pointers to share.Know Your Bacteria. We are talking about living organisms, and in order to get a proper result, its important to have the correct strain of bacteria. This varies in crops and also in various countries. A sup-plier that claims to have a bulletproof product for all your challenges is probably not being honest, KETTY NILSSONPRESIDENT, NOROGARD ketty@norogard.com@NoroGardABnorogard.comNOVEMBER 2019GERMINATION.CA 45'