IBF Servizi is a large agricultural group in Italy and the initiator of a project with strategic objectives to improve the competitiveness of Italian agriculture in terms of quality improvement, cost reduction as well as sustainability of environmental impacts. In addition, precision agriculture services are offered and made available to farms of all sizes.
In 2021, a field trial with borlotti beans was conducted to demonstrate that the use of microorganisms in agriculture is a sustainable practice with low environmental impact that, when applied in an appropriate way and with specific technical knowledge, contributes to reducing nutrient losses without affecting soil fertility. Also in interest is a reduction in the use of fertilisers by at least 20% by 2030.
The results of the trial show that the use of Trichoderma sp. as a biostimulant led to higher crop productivity compared to standard cultivation. This favoured a more efficient use of water and nutrients, reduced the damage caused by abiotic stress, which had a positive effect on productivity: the Trichoderma-treated plants were consistently larger and produced a higher grain yield. Also, the average number of plants was 22 instead of only 18 per m2 compared to the control. The total biomass at harvest in October 2021 was 6.7% higher than in the control plots.