Inactivated Bacteria for Plant Biostimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing biofertilizers and biostimulants face challenges in maintaining viability under varying soil conditions, which affects microbial inoculation success and plant growth, as they require specific conditions for optimal performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of inactivated bacteria strains, specifically from the genus Delftia, which have been killed through physical, biochemical, or physicochemical processes, demonstrating enhanced biostimulating effectiveness on plant development compared to live bacteria strains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If live bacteria strains are used in biofertilizers, then biostimulating effectiveness is achieved, but maintaining viability under varying soil conditions becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning the bacterial product from a live state to an inactivated state. This fundamental parameter change allows the product to maintain its biostimulating effectiveness while becoming insensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature, pH, and moisture variations in soil, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses inactivated bacteria instead of live bacteria, effectively replacing a fragile, condition-dependent biological agent with a stable, non-living alternative. This approach sacrifices the self-replication capability of live bacteria but gains stability and ease of storage and application, allowing the product to be used without concern for maintaining viability during storage and application.
2Reliability
If live bacteria are used, then colonization of rhizosphere can occur, but specific soil conditions and temperatures must be maintained for optimal performance
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the state parameter from live to inactivated, the patent eliminates the need for complex storage and application conditions. The inactivated bacteria can be stored at various temperatures and applied without requiring specific soil conditions, significantly reducing the complexity of the system while maintaining or enhancing effectiveness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If inactivated bacteria are used, then stability under varying conditions is improved, but biostimulating effectiveness may be reduced compared to live bacteria
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts what would normally be considered a harmful or limiting factor (inactivation of bacteria) into a beneficial property. The inactivation process, which would normally destroy bacterial functionality, is instead used to create a stable product that maintains biostimulating effectiveness while gaining resistance to environmental conditions. The bacterial cells or their components retain their ability to stimulate plant growth even in the inactivated state.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The inactivated bacteria strains show greater biostimulating effectiveness on plant development, improving parameters such as leaf area, root development, and biomass production, regardless of soil conditions, thus overcoming the limitations of maintaining viability in biofertilizers.
Implementation Method 1
The inactivated bacteria being characterized in that it has a biostimulating effectiveness on the development of plants greater than that of the same strain of living bacteria
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention concerns a method for increasing the biostimulation efficacy of a live bacterial strain or a composition containing same, characterised in that the method comprises a step of inactivating the live bacterial strain, the inactivated bacterial strain obtained in this way having a higher biostimulation efficacy on the development of plants than that obtained with the same bacterial strain when live or with a composition containing same. The present invention also concerns an inactivated bacterial strain and a composition comprising same, for improving the development of a plant.