Liposam from BTU: microbial polysaccharides as an alternative to the chemical adjuvants

Liposam is practiced in 12 countries worldwide, both in organic farming and IPM. More than 2 mln ha of farmland are treated with the adhesive annually. The efficiency was noted by 86% of farmers. An agent is compatible in tank mixtures with the most active substances. Product is completely safe and certified for organic agriculture. In December 2021 Liposam got approval by BVL as an adjuvant in Germany. This gives it a new opportunity for the development on the world market.

Composition

Liposam is based on exopolysaccharides produced by the PGPR bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa. Bacteria are known to secrete exopolysaccharides to attach to substrate surfaces, such as soil particles or plant roots as well as to create comfortable living conditions for cells. In the molecule of the polysaccharide, individual cells are able to access moisture and nutrients located at the opposite end of the colony. These properties, fixation and transportation, make microbial polysaccharides a versatile tool. First, it is a safe way to fix the active substances on the surface of the plant or in the top layer of soil, where such substances should be preserved at the place of application. Secondly, bacterial exopolysaccharides demonstrate the ability to accumulate moisture and act as protector against various stress factors - freezing, high temperatures or drought.

Uniqueness and properties

The uniqueness of this preparation is enabled by specific spatial configuration of macromolecules of biopolymers, which forms on the surface of the leaf a net-like cover that softly covers the plants and pods without hampering the growth, breathing and photosynthesis processes.  Unlike synthetic adhesive agents, which break a wax layer of the leaf, Liposam acts gently making no harm to this natural shell, thanks to what the plants became less vulnerable to the diseases. Besides, getting into the surface of the plant, Liposam drops occupy the area which is 1,2-2 times bigger than without it. Together with this, the height of the drop is decreasing by 10-30% depending on the concentration of solution and drop size. Such spreading of solution on the leaf not only makes the contact of working solution but also prevents sunburns that can be caused by lenticular drop. Moreover, being the product of life of agronomical valuable microorganisms, this adhesive agent is also an additional source of plant nutrition.

Applying Liposam with herbicides it fixes herbicides on the upper layer in soil and protects from leaching down. At the expense of retention of the working solution in the upper soil layer the effect of herbicides on weed increases and its phytotoxicity towards cultivated plants decreases as the majority of them grow from the soil layer 5-10 cm and that is where they face the increased concentration of herbicides but the root system of the plants is not influenced by its harmful effect.

Evidence base

Adhesive properties of Liposam allows to prevent flushing of active substances from different leaves in case of moderate rain up to +50-100% after 30 minutes of application and +92-500% after 60 minutes in comparison to control.

To visualize the ability Liposam to attach the leaves we added 1 g / 100 ml of fluorescent stain to two solutions and made 2-3 injections of adhesive solution and water (control). See the results on the image.

Besides main function as adhesive agent, Liposam improves drought tolerance of plants. In dry conditions of North-East Institute of Agriculture, Ukraine due to this effect Liposam® provided +0,82 t/ha on corn and +0,78 t/ha on sunflower.

Liposam is applied in a pre-sowing seed treatment of sunflower, corn, rapeseed, soybean, vegetable crops as well as in processing of potato tubers and plant bulbs. It improves the homogeneity of seed coating with biological preparations, other plant protection agents and nutrition of seed, ensuring their close contact with the treated surface. In case of insufficient moisture content in soil, the water-absorbing polymer membrane of Liposam makes it possible to save seeds for a long time (up to 1 month), increases field germination, and promotes better formation of the root system.

A vegetable farm in Vasylivka, Vinnytsia region, Ukraine, have applied Liposam with the pre-planting treatment of cabbage seedlings by soaking the roots of seedlings in Liposam solution. As a result, the seedlings' survival was 100%.

BTU-CENTER also checked the influence on the migration of nutrients and matter in the 0-50 cm soil layer. Three tubus with low-humus soil were sprayed in three different manners – (1) with chemical adjuvant, (2) Liposam, (3) water (control). The daily watering was 50 ml per one item. The lowest filtrate received was in the variant with Liposam (285 ml), then with water (305 ml) and then with chemical analogue (360 ml). The research was repeated twice.

After filtrates have been received, corn was sowed into moisture-saturated cylinder. Here is the results of average plants height for 5 pcs, cm

The analogue preparation reduced the water-holding capacity of the soil by 13-18%, while Liposam, on the contrary, and increased it by 2-7% compared to the control. The application of a typical analogue preparation and Liposam on the soil surface reduced the migration of organic, mineral and organo-mineral components beyond the 0-50 cm layer by 25-41% compared to the control.

Conclusion

Liposam is an environmentally pure product, so its use instead of synthetic analogues will contribute to the production of healthy foods. It is a multifunctional biological that functions as an adhesive, adjuvant, antitranspirant, sorbent-carrier, antidote, antistressant, soil conditioner and net-forming agent. It is compatible with all water-soluble fertilizers, plant protection products, growth regulators and biologicals and available with the most application methods.