Moss Culture Biostimulant Production With Simple Aqueous Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing phytohormone-based plant biostimulants are costly, complex, and inefficient, and there is a need for a more cost-effective and easily applicable method to enhance plant growth and stress tolerance.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the propagation of aquatic and terrestrial mosses in a controlled environment using osmotic water with controlled nutrients, followed by separation of biostimulant-rich aqueous solutions, which are then used to create fertilizer compositions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If phytohormones are extracted from vascular plants, algae, bacteria or fungi, then the biostimulant effect is achieved, but the production is limited by low hormone concentration in the biomass
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the biological source from conventional plants, algae, bacteria or fungi to mosses (specifically Physcomitrella patens), which naturally produce phytohormones at much higher concentrations. This parameter change in the biological source resolves the contradiction by providing both high hormone concentration and high productivity simultaneously.
2Productivity
If chemical synthesis is used to produce phytohormones, then the production quantity can be increased, but the process becomes complex, expensive and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs mosses that naturally and continuously produce phytohormones through their metabolic processes. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex chemical synthesis equipment and procedures, achieving high productivity through biological self-production rather than industrial chemical manufacturing.
3Reliability
If microbial fermentation is used to produce phytohormones, then bioactivity and purity are improved, but high technology bioreactors and sterile conditions are required increasing production costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mosses grown in simple culture media that can be easily prepared and disposed of after use. Unlike expensive, complex bioreactor systems requiring sterile conditions, the moss culture system uses inexpensive, non-sterile media that can be handled with basic laboratory equipment, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining high bioactivity and purity.
4Quantity of substance
If mosses are cultivated in liquid medium with macronutrients and micronutrients, then the biostimulant production is enhanced, but the separation and purification process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the biostimulant-rich aqueous solution directly from the moss culture medium by simple filtration or decantation, separating the moss biomass from the culture liquid. This straightforward extraction method avoids complex separation and purification processes while maintaining high biostimulant concentration in the recovered aqueous solution.
Data Source
Figure 1A~2B
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Figure 5A~6B
AI summary
A method for the production of plant biostimulants secreted in the culture medium of aquatic or terrestrial mosses is here described. It is a further object of the invention the use of the culture aqueous solution of the mosses for the preparation of a fertilizer composition for the biostimulation of plants, for example in agricolture, by means of the growth modulation and the stress response.