LUSSIFER Project
From April 2016 to March 2021
Each year, plants extract significant amounts of silicon from the soil, most of which is not returned as it is removed with crop residues. Over decades of monoculture, this depletion has become a limiting factor for agricultural production, particularly in rice and sugarcane cultivation, the crops with the highest silicon demand.
Taking advantage of upcoming regulatory changes, the LUSSIFER project seeks to meet this growing need by developing multiple generations of liquid biofertilizer products concentrated in silicon.
Partners
AGRONUTRITION
IMERYS
CENTRE FRANÇAIS DU RIZ
LCA (INPT)
RAPSODEE (Mines Albi-Carmaux)
CRITT Bio-Industries (INSA)
Budget
2 230 k€
Financeurs
BPI France et Région Midi-Pyrénées
(FUI AAP21)
Région Midi-Pyrénées
BPI France
projeCt
ObjectiVEs
The project aims to introduce three generations of products to the market:
- First-generation products: Concentrated suspensions of insoluble silicon formulated from naturally silicon-rich mineral materials such as diatomaceous earth, wollastonite, and others.
- Second-generation products: Solutions enriched in bioavailable silicon formulated from raw materials rich in soluble silicon, such as silicic acid. This bioavailable form of silicon will be produced through an innovative biotechnological process or chemically if necessary. The raw materials used in this process will be naturally silicon-rich minerals.
- Third-generation products: Suspensions of microorganisms capable of solubilizing bioavailable silicon in the soil. Through known physiological mechanisms, certain soil microorganisms can solubilize silicon that is otherwise unavailable to plants. This activity benefits plants by providing a source of bioavailable silicon generated by the soil’s microbial flora.
CRITT Bio-industries
CONTRIBUtion
- Producing microorganisms capable of assimilating silicon from various raw materials.
- Developing a process for producing bioavailable silicon through microbial pathways.