About
The Biostimulant Coalition is a group of interested parties cooperating to proactively address regulatory and legislative issues involving biological or naturally-derived additives and / or similar products, including but not limited to bacterial or microbial inoculants, biochemical materials, amino acids, humic acids, fulvic acid, seaweed extract and other similar materials. The coalition is a nonprofit affiliation of interested parties.
What are Biostimulants?
In 2007, AAPFCO defined a term called “Beneficial Substances.” After several discussions with AAPFCO about the biostimulant definition, AAPFCO agreed to develop a process by which subcategory definitions under the coalition’s concept of “biostimulants” would be able to apply for their own respective definitions. For example, a specific fulvic acid definition could be developed that would be defined and placed under the Beneficial Substances category. Each subcategory material will have to go through a similar process. The definition of “Beneficial Substances is below.”
Beneficial Substance: Means any substance or compound other than primary, secondary, and micro plant nutrients that can be demonstrated by scientific research to be beneficial to one or more species of plants, when applied exogenously. (AAPFCO 2007)
Additionally European regulators are currently considering a definition for plant biostimulants. It is as follows. "Plant biostimulants contain substance(s) and/or micro-organisms whose function when applied to plants or the rhizosphere is to stimulate natural processes to enhance/benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and crop quality.
What does the coalition do?
The purpose of creating a Biostimulant Coalition is to bring together companies who develop, sell or market products, derived from natural or biological sources, which can:
- When applied in small quantities, enhance plant growth and development
- Help improve the efficiency of plant nutrients, as measured by either improved nutrient uptake or reduced nutrient losses to the environment, or both; or
- Act as soil amendments, with demonstrated ability to help improve soil structure, function or performance and thus enhance plant response; or
- Contribute to all of the above functions
Our goals in forming this coalition are to:
- Develop a strong working relationship as industry partners with AAPFCO.
- Serve as scientific, technical, business and / or commercial resources regarding the products that our companies develop, sell and/or market.
- Serve as resources in the development of terms and definitions that are agreeable to industry that effectively explain, describe and allow for their proper recognition by regulatory bodies.
- Work with AAPFCO to develop a set of standards for biostimulant products such as fertilizers, biological or naturally-derived additives and similar products, including but not limited to bacterial or microbial inoculants, biochemical materials, amino acid, humic acid, fulvic acid, seaweed extract and other similar materials.
