OCTOBER 2026  |  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE   I   55
PARTNER CONTENT
Laga says manual inoculation is the 
biggest contributor to crop failures for 
new growers, usually because they are 
inexperienced in how to inoculate cor­
rectly. For experienced farmers scaling 
up, he adds, the challenge is the timing: 
on-farm inoculation is labour-intensive 
and hard to keep pace with when the 
window between the inoculation and 
seeding is tight across large fields. Both 
problems, he argues, produce inconsist­
ent results that can slow adaptation. 
Protealis has focused on pre-inocu­
lation as a way to remove the on-farm 
application step. MagNfix™ is sold solely 
through seed distributors rather than pur­
chased as a standalone inoculant for 
farmers to apply themselves.
Effective nodulation supports nitrogen 
fixation, which influences crop growth and 
performance. “Visually, you can see it when 
you visit a field, lush, dark green inoculated 
plants versus lighter, shorter, non or poorly 
inoculated ones,” Juan Ramirez, Protealis’ 
Head of Microbiology, says.
CAN PRE-INOCULATED SEED 
PERFORM LIKE FRESHLY 
INOCULATED SEED?
Of course, bacteria applied ahead must 
remain viable until the seed enters the soil. 
Protealis first screened strains iso­
lated from European soils and selected 
Bradyrhizobium japonicum SOY223, which 
it says is genetically distinct from other 
known strains and has demonstrated 
an ability to nodulate under cold condi­
tions. A patent application for the strain 
is under review. “Once we had the right 
strain, we optimized the inoculant formu­
lation to enhance the bacterial survival 
during storage and, in turn, build good 
nodulation,” Ramirez says.
Protealis measured bacterial sur­
vival on coated seeds stored at room 
temperature for 30, 60 and 90 days, then 
compared results with freshly applied 
inoculant and other commercial inocu­
lants in both the laboratory and the field. 
“Every time we had improvements in sur­
vival, we went to the field and checked: 
does it translate into better nodulation, 
better yield, better protein content?” 
Ramirez continues. 
Protealis says its data show 
MagNfix™ performs as well after three 
months of storage as fresh. That remains 
a Protealis performance claim based on 
its testing programme. According to the 
company, the work extended over three 
years and included trials in Belgium, 
France and Germany, conducted partly 
in-house and partly through external trial 
partners and research institutes.
ONE PIECE OF A MUCH BIGGER 
SOYBEAN PUZZLE
Europe still faces questions around pro­
cessing capacity, markets, crop eco­
nomics, drought, farmer experience and 
regional suitability. But inoculation raises 
a further question. Efforts to adapt soy­
bean production to Europe have con­
centrated on the plant: earlier maturity, 
cold tolerance and regionally adapted 
varieties. Protealis’ work asks whether 
adaptation needs to extend to the micro­
organisms the crop relies upon as well.
For Laga, that matters beyond 
soybean. He sees legumes as part of 
Europe's response to protein and nitro­
gen fertiliser dependencies as well as to 
climate resilience of its cropping systems. 
Nitrogen-fixing crops ask less of depleted 
soils and build their organic content, 
hence improving soil health. “We need to 
rethink the classical crop rotations region 
by region and include more legumes,” he 
says.
Whether Europe substantially 
increases its soybean production will 
depend on far more than one variety, 
inoculant or company. But as soybean 
moves into new regions, adaptation may 
need to extend beyond the genetics 
inside the seed. The bacteria surrounding 
it may matter too.
Juan S. Ramirez, Head of Microbiology at Protealis
Soybean field in Flanders, Belgium, a market-standard competitor product next to MagNfix™

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