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Algomel® PROACT biosolution: red algae extract and silicon to enhance crop vitality

By March 18, 2024Algomel PROACT, Plant Care
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Preserving maximum crop potential despite climatic hazards and pest pressure remains an ongoing struggle. Of the many solutions designed to bolster plant resistance, algae extracts have long proven effective in dealing with environmental stress. Today, Algomel® PROACT foliar biosolution goes further, leveraging synergies between algae and silicon.

Red algae extract activates growth

Special care is taken in preparing the ingredients that go into Algomel® PROACT foliar solution.

The red algae used to produce the concentrated extract of the Algomel® PROACT formula are harvested fresh during Autumn and Winter on the coasts of southern Brittany and northern Vendée in France. They are rich in proteins, peptides and amino acids and also possess unique sugars such as carrageenans and oligo-carrageenans. Processed in a custom-developed industrial unit, these algae release their active ingredients which are then concentrated in a stabilized extract named R-SEANERGY®.

The work performed on the effects of the concentrated red algae extract R-SEANERGY® on plants has proven its effectiveness in stimulating photosynthesis and foliar and root growth.

The red algae are harvested fresh on the Atlantic coast and is then quickly processed to preserve all its qualities.

Silicon to bolster resistance

Silicon is essential for the growth and development
of many plant species, especially when exposed to
abiotic or biotic stress situations.

Another vital ingredient in the Algomel® PROACT formulation, silicon, is only absorbed by plants in its organic form, i.e. silicic acid. The major challenge is to keep the silicic acid in hydrated form to preserve its solubility and therefore its effectiveness.

Silicon has many interesting properties for plant production, including strengthening the mechanical and elastic resistance of plant tissue and modulating the genes involved in activating defense mechanisms.

These properties are especially interesting for crop production:

  • more efficient water and nutrient mobility in plants,
  • a more robust antioxidant system allowing the plant to address environmental stress more effectively (water stress, heat, etc.).

Algomel® PROACT foliar solution combines the growth stimulation of red algae extract with the enhanced plant defense properties from silicon. This association, named R-SEALICA®, has been recognized under a patent filed by Olmix.

Algomel® PROACT improves yield in the face of climatic constraints

Field trials measured the impact of Algomel® PROACT foliar biosolution.

Seaweed-based nutritional biosolution enriched with manganese and sulphur

In trials on barley at 1 L/ha applied between the bolting and heading stages, the average yield gain was 4.23 dT/ha compared to the untreated control.

In trials on sunflower, application at 1 L/ha at the five-leaf pair stage resulted in an average increase in yield of 3.89 dT/ha compared with the untreated control.

Lastly on potato, three applications of Algomel® PROACT at 2 L/ha between the tuber initiation and end-of-flowering stages produced a gain of 4.5 t/ha.

Like all foliar solutions designed to help crops with abiotic stress, the result depends on the occurrence of said stress factors (drought, heat wave, cold snap…) and their intensity.

It is therefore recommended to focus on crops and plots particularly exposed to these risks and adjust applications according to weather conditions.