Biosourced biologicals composed of Phytosterols to elicit plant response to water stress and to biotic stress as part of the transition to ecological agriculture

Project Information

Generation Biosourced Biologicals

Grant agreement ID: 190175425

DOI

10.3030/190175425

Project closed

EC signature date 5 April 2023

Start date 1 March 2023

End date 28 February 2025

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 9 854 062,50

EU contribution

€ 2 500 000,00

Coordinated by

ELICIT PLANT
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Generation Biosourced Biologicals (Biosourced biologicals composed of Phytosterols to elicit plant response to water stress and to biotic stress as part of the transition to ecological agriculture)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There is no doubt that agriculture will have to contend with the consequences of global warming, and the trend shows no sign of reversing. A study by American researchers has shown that climate change in the 20th century has already reduced global agricultural productivity by 21%. BEST-a is a pioneer product based on biosourced phytosterols to deliver sustainability and proven yields gain in water stress conditions, issued from patented technology developed by Elicit Plant and first product to adapt crops to climate change. BEST-a has been authorised in France in 2021 for corn and soybean. The objective is to improve the formulation of the product, create new products with same technology to expand usage to other species and other stresses, then to carry out new field tests and to obtain marketing authorisations, with three ultimate goals to help farmers: 1-Provide sustainable biosourced product to adjust to climate change, 2-Reduce usage of chemicals, 3-Ease to grow protein crops with a sustainable approach. Elicit Plant’s goal is to take a leading position in the global biologicals market thanks to its phytosterols based products, selling its products in more than 15 countries worldwide.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The field trials carried out in 2023 deepened our understanding of the effect on newly developed formulas on various target crops and their efficacy to protect them against drought (wheat, barley, corn, soybean, sunflower and vine) and fungal diseases, allowing us to develop new products whose composition better matches the needs of the plant and the technical constraints of farmers.
Best-a’s performance was confirmed in 2023 on corn through trials conducted in Brazil, the United States, Poland, Ukraine and France, with initial yield gains estimated to be an average of 590 kg per hectare (some exceptional gains were achieved in Ukraine and in the Charente region of France, with yield increases of 900 kg and 1,000 kg per hectare respectively). Best-a has proven its performance in diverse weather conditions and soil contexts.
Seven new candidate formulas have been validated at Elicit Plant research farm in Vilhonneur and on various experimental sites in France, Europe and Brazil, each of which have shown sufficient evidence towards tolerance to drought stress conditions for relevant crop and application, so that the candidate formulas can enter into late development, multilocation field trialing.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Under the European Regulation Fertilizing Products (EU) 1009-2019, Elicit Plant has been granted market authorization to commercialize two new products in the EU27 countries end of 2023, meaning much earlier than expected at the time the application for the EIC Accelerator grant was drafted. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s development, as it unlocks major markets for cereals, and sunflower, complementing its successful first product launch of Best-a, controlling drought stress in maize. Altogether, these three crops represent a substantial potential area of 48 million hectares, now accessible for Elicit Plant’s unique and innovative drought stress mitigation products. Three different products will be available in the 27 EU countries: Elizea for corn, EliGrain-a for straw cereals, and EliSun-a for sunflower. All have validated significant yield increases under drought conditions, thereby supporting farm economy and helping to mitigate the overarching risks associated with climate change.
Extensive field trials carried out in 2023 have proven that Elicit Plant’s phytosterol-based biosolutions are the only ones providing farmers with a regular and sufficient return on investment for use in large-scale crops, yielding an average increase in productivity of 12%. Best-a, as well as the new products EliSun-a and EliGrain-a have demonstrated exceptional performances, ensuring average yield increases of over 10%, with additional yields beyond two tons in optimal conditions. These solutions provide a crucial response to climate challenges, reinforcing agricultural resilience against weather uncertainties.