U.S.-based company Locus Agricultural Solutions has developed what it says is a game-changing microbial production process that will help farmers boost soil health and pest control while also enriching the root microbiome to strengthen crops' natural vitality.

The company's CEO Paul Zorner explained that microbes were important to all kinds of complex life forms, but that over time the diversity of root microbiomes had been eroded to due issues like poor soil management and overuse of inorganic fertilizers.

He explained that for decades farmers had understood this problem and had tried to improve the bacterial and fungal population in soils with microbial products, but it often was not effective.

The main problem, he said, was that the live materials were typically made far away from the farms at a remote facility, put into large drums and shipped through hot loading docks, thus deteriorating the quality of the product.

"It's like going to the store and buying a fresh piece of salmon or a nice piece of meat, and bringing it home and throwing it on your kitchen table and expecting it to be delicious and healthy two weeks from now," he said.

"I've worked in this area for a long time, and it's not hard to find beneficial microbes. If you use them as freshly brewed materials they work just fine, but if you leave them out and they sit around for long periods of time they don't work so well."

He said that Locus AG had therefore not tried to discover new organisms - as there are plenty currently available, either proprietary or public - but it instead had focused on how to serve the grower with fresh, high-potent material.

"We literally reinvented the whole idea of small-scale fermentation - think microbreweries, but for agriculture. Our products are brewed individually in modular sections and it's very fresh material," he said.

The high concentration of the material means small quantities are needed and it is therefore much easier to maintain the cold chain, and having local fermentation centers means the product can be delivered to farmers much faster than normal.

The company is headquartered in Ohio but is currently building its first fermentation center in Arcadia, Florida, and plans to establish more centers in the state according to demand.

After that, Locus AG plans to expand into other major fruit and vegetable-growing U.S. states like Texas, California, Oregon and Washington, following which it could move into South American countries like Chile and Argentina that grow similar crops to the U.S.

The company's first product, Rhizolizer, is a microbial blend of fungi and bacteria that promotes soil nutrient availability and supports improved crop vitality. 

The product was introduced in December 2017, and Zorner said it has so far been well received in Florida.

"In our initial tests we saw anywhere from 15-20% yield increases, up to 40% depending on the crop that we’re working with, which include potatoes, tomatoes, citrus and strawberries. With strawberries the count per acre went up, along with berry size and Brix levels," he said.

He added that in citrus there had been an 80% increase in root mass and "significant new root growth" on trees affected by citrus greening disease.

"We're in the early stages but we're also seeing a correlating increase in canopy density and overall vigor of the tree," he said.

The company is currently releasing additional Rhizolizer products for individual fruit categories.

Zorner said Locus is also developing a diagnostic tool with which growers can measure how much of a particular microbe is in the soil in a matter of minutes. He said that at present, samples had to be sent off to laboratories, which was a costly and time-consuming process.

"Microbial application is kind of an act of faith. We literally know more about the surface of the moon than we do about microbial soil ecology in agricultural fields," he said.

"We think for the first time ever people are going to be able to actually understand what’s going on with their microbes and to be able to use that understanding to better optimize the use and the efficacy of the product."

Locus expects to have the diagnostic product's commercial release next year.

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