POTATO growers face more challenges today than ever before: From climate extremes to soil degradation, with rising input costs and increasing demands for more sustainable practices.
They are being forced to rethink how they work with nature and, as the global population continues to rise, ensuring food security adds even more urgency.
This is where precision microbial fermentation comes into play, according to Helena Estiveira of biological solutions provider Alltech Crop Science (ACS), who recently outlines the role it has to play in an online blog.
“Commonly associated with food and pharmaceutical production, microbial fermentation is gaining ground in agriculture as a way to deliver consistent, high-impact biological inputs,” she said.
Using traditional inputs, or the same approaches that have been used for a long time, is no longer sufficient, Helena said, stressing that tools that are smarter, more efficient, and more in tune with the intricate biological ecosystems of their crops and soils are now the way forward.
“While fermentation has been used for decades in the production processes of a variety of industries, from food to pharmaceuticals, its role in agriculture has often been limited to multiplying beneficial microorganisms for soil or plant health. However, as our understanding of the science of microbes continues to evolve, so does our way of thinking about how to get the most out of these powerful natural allies.”
Precision microbial fermentation is different because it goes beyond adding live microbial strains to the soil and instead focuses on controlling the fermentation process itself to produce not only live microorganisms, but also the bioactive substances they naturally generate, including enzymes, secondary metabolites, and other beneficial compounds that can trigger specific plant responses, improve soil processes, and support crop performance in a more reliable way.
Pedro Palazón is CEO of independent research company Ideagro, which focuses on the agri-food sector and has laboratory and test fields distributed throughout Spain and Portugal.
He said: “We need to stop seeing microorganisms only as live inputs and start recognising them as factories of bioactive compounds that can do much more for our crops and soils.”
Traditional microbial biostimulants focus on introducing specific strains into the soil, with the goal of delivering known benefits such as nitrogen fixation or disease suppression. But these approaches, while valuable, are often limited by the variability of field conditions, environmental stresses, and the complex interactions that happen underground.
“The difference lies in how we direct and fine-tune the fermentation process itself,” said Helena. “By carefully controlling variables like temperature, pH, and nutrient sources, we guide the microbial activity to produce highly targeted organic compounds that deliver real-world benefits to crops and soils. These compounds can help plants root more deeply, access more crop nutrients, tolerate stress better, and activate natural growth pathways.”
Precision microbial fermentation represents a new way of designing biological solutions. Rather than replacing live microbial inputs, it enhances their power by capturing valuable byproducts of their metabolism, organic compounds that are often overlooked but play critical roles in soil health, nutrient cycling and plant vigor.
These include secondary metabolites that act as precursors to plant hormones or help plants cope with stress; enzymes that unlock soil nutrients, making them more available to crops; functional organic compounds that influence soil microbiome dynamics in favour of beneficial interactions.
“By focusing on the whole microbial compound — not just the live cells — we’re able to deliver more complete, more consistent products that perform reliably across different crops, soils and conditions,” said Helena.
“In a time where agriculture is under growing pressure to do more with less, precision microbial fermentation is not just an incremental improvement — it’s a smarter, more sustainable way forward. By leveraging the natural capacity of microbes to produce targeted, beneficial compounds, we can reduce dependence on synthetic fertilisers and chemicals, promote soil regeneration, and support growers in adopting more sustainable practices without compromising yields or profitability.”
