Researchers have known for years that certain soil bacteria can enhance crop production, but some of those beneficial bacteria don’t fare well if they’re dried on seeds or mixed into liquid solutions and stored for months in a warehouse. “You’re going to have a lot of death,” says Bruce Caldwell, CEO of 3Bar Biologics. The Columbus-based company is working to introduce a better delivery system, so the beneficial bacteria will be fresh and viable when farmers apply them in their fields.

Research conducted at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) has identified soil bacteria strains native to Ohio that can improve health of agricultural crops and increase yields. However, farmers can’t benefit from that research without an effective way of increasing the populations of those bacteria in their fields. “That’s the gap we’re trying to bridge,” Caldwell says. 3Bar Biologics isn’t involved in identifying beneficial bacteria. Instead, the company has developed a convenient way for farmers to grow their own supply of the beneficial bacteria identified by OARDC.

The Ohio Soybean Council has supported the company’s efforts, and the delivery technology was recognized with an R&D 100 Award in November. The international awards recognize the world’s top technology innovations each year. 3Bar Biologics recently began working on a USDA grant project to develop a biological control product to combat soybean cyst nematode in crop fields.

Caldwell founded 3Bar Biologics in 2014, after a 30-year career as a researcher at Procter & Gamble and Scotts Miracle-Gro. While at Scotts, he became aware of the opportunities, and the pitfalls, of marketing living biologics. The problem is that many of the most beneficial microbes don’t form spores, so they can’t wait out tough living conditions during product storage and shipping. For instance, the moisture level necessary to keep seed viable is too low for many microbes, and if the moisture were increased to benefit the microbes, the seed quality would suffer, Caldwell explains. Some products on the market use hardier strains that can form spores and survive until they reach the soil, but those tougher microbes aren’t necessarily the most beneficial for crop production.

Grow your own
To make sure beneficial microbes are alive and ready to reproduce when farmers put them in the ground, 3Bar Biologics has developed a way for farmers to grow their own microbes just before applying them. The system uses a packet of stabilized microbes sealed in the lid of a jug containing a mixture of water, nutrients and gas. To start growing the microbes, a farmer pushes down a tab on the cap, releasing the microbes into the liquid and then shakes the jug. After being activated, the mixture needs to sit at room temperature for 24 hours so the microbes can reproduce. During that time, the mixture will change from clear to cloudy as the microbe populations grow.

In the lid packets, the bacteria have the right balance of nutrients and moisture to keep them alive with their metabolisms slowed, like bears hibernating in their dens, explains Jane Fife, chief science officer for 3Bar Biologics. After the bacteria have been mixed into the growing solution and allowed to reproduce, the solution needs to be applied promptly within 14 days before the population begins declining.

For the best results, the solution should be applied on or with the seed, says Fife. “You want some on every seed that gets planted.” For instance, corn planters equipped with in-furrow liquid application equipment work well, she notes. “You want the beneficial bacteria to colonize and grow with the plant roots.” Farmers who want to use starter fertilizers or insecticides can usually mix in the microbial additive along with the other products in the tank, she adds. After the solution is activated, each drop contains millions of bacteria, so a little goes a long way. Each jug is enough for 200 gallons of tank mix and can treat up to 40 acres of crop ground.

On-farm testing
OSU researchers have already demonstrated the yield advantages of the bacteria in replicated trials on research farms. Over the last three years, 3Bar Biologics has been extending that research with on-farm testing. In 2014 and 2015, testing was done within Ohio, and then in 2016 the research was extended to farms in other states to see how Ohio’s locally adapted bacteria perform elsewhere. Some farmer customers are also doing their own comparisons with strip tests within their fields.

The bacteria have multiple modes of action that can improve crop health and yields. Currently, 3Bar Biologics is focusing on marketing the product as a microbial soil additive for plant growth promotion, Fife says. One advantage is that the bacteria produce organic acids that help make phosphorus available for plant uptake. The bacteria also stimulate the plants’ immune systems, helping them withstand drought, excess water or other forms of abiotic stress.

University research has also shown that certain bacteria can act as bio-pesticides, helping control disease-causing microbes that threaten crops. However, marketing a product as a bio-pesticide requires more expensive EPA registration, so 3Bar Biologics is not focusing on those possibilities at this point.

As farmers continue to look for ways to improve yields, protect water quality and reduce input expenses, they’re becoming more interested in the interactions between soil microbes and crop plants, Caldwell notes. The Green Revolution brought yield advances based on genetic improvement of crops and the use of chemical inputs; however, more advances are possible with better management of soil microbes, he says.  “We really are just beginning to leverage the power of beneficial soil microbiology.”

Additional information on 3Bar Biologics is available at 3barbiologics.com.