b'of plant nutrition. The question was justnine is absorbed faster by plant roots thanSWE: NIKLAS, CAN YOU SHARE SOME which of the many amino acids availableother nitrogenous substances. Because it isINSIGHTSINTOYOURMANUFAC-(20 proteinogenic amino acids, many morepositively charged in the pH range of soils,TURING PROCESSES? HOW DO THEY non-protein amino acids) would be mostarginine also binds strongly to soil particles.ALIGN WITH YOUR COMMITMENT TO suitable? We realized already at the begin- The combination of efficient root uptake andENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY?ning that a combination of high soil reten- strong binding to soil particles leads to veryNIKLAS STRM (NA): Using our prod-tion combined with high rates of acquisitionlow leakage of nitrogen compared to otheructs in reforestation has helped increase of plant roots would be the ideal charac- forms of plant nitrogen sources used today.plant survivability, productivity, and to teristic for delivering nitrogen to plants.And as Torgny already mentioned, argininereduce environmental impact. The increased The combination seemed unlikely but testsstimulates growth and development of rootsdemand for our products motivated us to on tree seedlings surprisingly showed thatand root-associated microbes. This makesinvest in a new, custom-tailored produc-arginine displays both characteristics. Weplants more stress-resistant with robusttion facility in Northern Sweden in 2022, also made the discovery that plants culti- and well-developed root systems, providingallowing us to manufacture our product line vated on arginine exhibited a much moreincreased survival, high growth, and sim- inhouse. The facility is small but extremely well-developed root system compared toplified cultivation. Our technology is basedefficient compared to production of conven-plants cultivated on inorganic nitrogen and,on the specific properties of this amino acid,tional fertilizers which contributes to a very in the case of trees, a much higher degreedistinguishing it from other amino acidslow carbon footprint. of mycorrhizal roots. This showed thatand from other types of plant nutrientsThe manufacturing processes are organic nitrogen in general, and arginineand plant biostimulants. The company hasdesigned to minimize waste by re-using in particular, was not only another sourcedeveloped a technology by which arginineour own waste streams in subsequent pro-of nitrogen for plants but also that plantis released over extended periods of time toduction runs. performance was drastically improved, inenable exact dosing for germinating seeds particular root development. and for stimulating beneficial microbes Editors Note: Arginine has the highestsuch as nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycor-nitrogen to carbon ratio of any of the 20 mainrhizal fungi. At the core of the technology amino acids so can be a beneficial source ofis the formulation of arginine into arginine organic nitrogen for plants. Of all amino acids,monophosphate crystals. This formulation arginine is the strongest cation which contrib- brings controlled release properties which utes to the very low losses of nitrogen when thismakes the product perfectly suited for seed amino acid is used in plant cultivation. applications as well as precision placements close to seeds. The controlled release prop-SWE:WHATINSPIREDYOUANDerties of arginine phosphate also replace the YOUR TEAM TO TAKE YOUR SCIEN- need for technology involving membranes.TIFIC RESULTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL BY FOUNDING A COMPANY THAT PRO- Arevo production facilityDUCES PLANT BIOSTIMULANTS?TN: I was contacted by a prospective for-estry customer that was forced to reduceSWE: REGINA, WITH RESPECT TO THE their nitrogen leakage from plant nurseries.FARM TO FORK STRATEGY, CAN YOU I realized that I could replace the mineralSPECIFY IN DETAIL WHICH GOALS CAN nitrogen component in their fertilizers byBE ADDRESSED BY USING YOUR PROD-an organic-derived nitrogen form: arginine.UCT? The leaching of nitrate from mineral ferti- RG: The Farm to Fork Strategy seeks to lizers contributes to severe environmentalreduce fertilizer use by at least 20 per cent, effects such as polluting waterbodies. Usingbut perhaps more importantly, to reduce arginine as a nitrogen source for plant cul- Arginine Phosphate crystals. nutrient losses by at least 50 per cent, while tivation maintains plant growth, develop- ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility. ment, and productivity, while minimizingBecause our product is so powerful and leaching and pollution. The well-knownefficient, only 80g nitrogen per hectare as negative effects of high rates of inorganica one-time application during planting of nitrogen supply on root development wasforest seedlings is needed. This shows how also a major interest and when seeing howa minute amount of product results in a arginine promoted a fundamentally differ- strong positive effect on seedling survival ent and much more developed root system,and growth, which directly addresses the I understood that this technology not onlyattempts to reduce nitrogen inputs in soils. could reduce nitrogen leakage but couldA study of the effects on golf grass exe-also contribute to the development of morecuted by the Norwegian Research Institute resilient cropping systems. (NIBIO) displayed a significantly reduced nitrogen leakage into the environment.SWE: REGINA, CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOWNIBIO used our product in com-THIS GROUND-BREAKING INNOVATIONparison to a standard inorganic nitrogen WORKS IN MORE DETAIL?fertilizer to grow turf and recorded estab-REGINA GRATZ (RG): In general, argi- arGrow, granulate version. lishment of the grass and nitrate leaching EUROPEAN-SEED.COMISEED WORLD EUROPE I 37'