A student from Altai State University received one million rubles for developing biological fertilizer

Pavel Stepanenko, a student at the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical-Pharmaceutical Technologies at Altai State University, has developed a fertilizer project that will help plants grow better and become more resilient. The preparation is based on fungi. The innovative project won one million rubles from the state competition "Student Startup" for implementation. Pavel Stepanenko told altapress.ru about its uniqueness and how it works.

Student Startup is a program implemented by the Foundation for Assistance to Innovations as part of the federal project titled University Technology Entrepreneurship Platform aimed at providing grant support for startup projects of students at Russian universities.

The need

The topic of Pavel Stepanenko's project is "Development of a technology for biological fertilizer based on mycorrhizal fungi for processing agricultural plants." This means that the result of his work will be a biological fertilizer based on fungi.

The young scientist has been engaged in research in this area for two years. He began to show interest in research already in the third semester of his studies. Now he is developing a fertilizer for the needs of farmers – the innovation will help plants get stronger, grow better and do without water longer.

"In laboratory classes on the basics of biotechnology, I liked working with fungi the most. The development of biofertilizer came to mind because I realized the demand for such technologies in Russia, and especially in our agricultural region," commented Pavel Stepanenko.

Neighborly Help

The action of biofertilizer is based on the introduction of mycorrhiza into the soil, which is a symbiosis between a plant and a fungus. The fungus, due to its hyphae (threads with which the fungus absorbs nutrients – ed.), significantly increases the area of ​​​​nutrient absorption and strengthens the plant in the soil.

In such a symbiosis as mycorrhiza, fungi and plants live in a harmonious, mutually beneficial neighborhood. No one parasitizes on the other. The roots become a source of valuable nutrients for fungi: amino acids, hormones and simple carbohydrates. In turn, fungi supply the roots of plants with water, phosphorus and various macro- and microelements.

Plant roots are thousands of times smaller than the mycorrhiza threads that weave around them and go deep underground. Due to such a close symbiosis, the plant can receive much more nutrients and feel better. This union is especially important in poor soils.

The innovativeness of the preparation developed by Pavel Stepanenko is that it is made in the form of a gel. According to the researcher, this significantly increases the percentage of germination and the rate of mycorrhiza formation.

Sheer benefit

The author of the project emphasizes that the resulting product will help to address several challenges faced by modern farmers:

“Firstly, these include unfavorable weather conditions, such as drought,” the young scientist explains. “Plants in symbiosis with fungi can endure longer periods without watering. Additionally, mycorrhiza enhances the digestibility of mineral fertilizers allowing for reduced application rates and helping to mitigate soil salination.”

Another benefit noted by the researcher is the increase in fruit size across various crops due to the effects of fungi in mycorrhiza. It is hard to overestimate the economic advantages for the farmers.

The project team intends to test the biofertilizer in the fields. They will negotiate this cooperation with farms to conduct field trials.

The product is still at the development stage. A considerable amount of work lies ahead: researchers need to assess the effect of the biofertilizer on different crops, determine the optimal application rate and conduct further experiments.

The prototypes have already been created; Pavel Stepanenko worked on their creation as part of his industrial training this academic year. 

What a million is needed for

At the moment, the project team includes several students at Altai State University in the Biotechnology program. Pavel Stepanenko is the author and project manager. Each team member is responsible for their own task.

"The work is mainly related to the creation of nutrient media compositions for growing fungal mycelium, selecting cultivation conditions in a fermenter, creating a stable form of the drug, and testing on plants. My scientific supervisor, Candidate of Biological Sciences, an associate professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry at Altai State University Denis Minakov, greatly helps our team."

The team will receive the first 100 thousand of the million won in September to register a legal entity – this is a mandatory condition of the grant.

When the next stage begins and the researchers receive the remaining 900 thousand rubles, the funds will be allocated to purchase reagents and nutrient media essential for developing the technology for the future fertilizer. In addition, the money will be necessary for patent registration, creating a company website, and conducting tests of the drug on farms.

To launch the project, the author is primarily considering Altai Krai, with plans to scale it up across Russia.

According to the guidelines, the winners are given a year to implement the grant. During this period, the team plans to develop a mycorrhizal drug technology. And the young scientist shared that it will not be limited to a million:

“In the future, additional funding will be required based on the developed technology. It will be used to implement and register the drug, which we plan to receive based on the results of the next competition of the Foundation for Assistance to Innovations. We will also seek industrial partners.”