Bio Stimulants

Why in news?

Recently, the Indian farmers has raised complaints about the inefficacy of the bio stimulants.

What are bio stimulants?

• Definition – It is a substance or microorganism or a combination of both whose primary function when applied to plants, seeds or rhizosphere is to stimulate physiological processes in plants.
• Purpose – It is to enhance its nutrient uptake, growth, yield, nutrition efficiency, crop quality and tolerance to stress.

• Constituents – Plant-derived waste materials and seaweed extracts.
• Application

• Working

Why they need to be regulate in India?

• Absence of classification - Bio stimulants did not fall under the existing fertilizer or pesticide categories.
• Unregulated sale - They were sold in the open market without government approval for a long time.
  • Around 30,000 bio stimulant products had been sold unchecked for several years in India.
• Increased sale - As the sale of bio stimulants increased over the years, it is high time for Centre’s regulation.

How they are regulated in India?

• Control orders – The Fertilizer (Inorganic, Organic or Mixed) (Control) Order (FCO), 1985, regulates the manufacturing and sale of bio stimulants.
• They are issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and makes changes to it from time to time.
• In 2021, FCO was amended to include bio stimulants, paving the way for their regulated manufacturing, sale and import.
• Judicial intervention - In 2011, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that ‘any manufacturer producing a bio product claiming to be a substitute for insecticides or fertilizer, but not covered under the rules, was to apply to the respective Director General of Agriculture, in the case of Haryana and Punjab.
• This paved the way for states to take samples of these products and check them before allowing their sale to farmers.
• Frameworks – In 2017, NITI Aayog and the Agriculture Ministry started working on a framework for bio stimulants.

How did FCO regulate bio stimulants?

• Fixing of conditions - The inclusion of bio stimulants empowered the Central government to fix specifications.
• Classification – Bio stimulants specified in Schedule VI of the FCO are classified into 8 categories.
  • For example, it includes botanical extracts (as well as seaweed extracts), bio-chemicals, vitamins, and antioxidants.
• Submission of application – Every manufacturer or importer of a bio stimulant shall make an application to the Controller of Fertilizers along with the requisite product information.
• Disclosure of information - The product’s chemistry, source (natural extracts of plant/microbe/animal/synthetic), shelf-life, reports of bio-efficacy trials, and toxicity must be submitted, along with other data.

• Acceptable limit – No bio stimulant shall contain any pesticide beyond the permissible limit of 0.01 ppm (parts per million).

• Agronomic Bio-efficiency trials – It shall be conducted under the National Agricultural Research System, including the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and state agricultural universities.
• The trials shall be conducted at minimum 3 different doses for one season at three agro-ecological locations.
• Central Bio stimulant Committee – It was constituted for 5 years, with the Agriculture Commissioner as its Chairperson and 7 other members.
• It shall advise the Centre on
  • Inclusion of a new bio stimulant
  • Specifications of various bio stimulants
  • Methods of drawing of samples and its analysis
  • Minimum requirements of laboratory
  • Method of testing of bio stimulants
  • Any other matter referred to it by the central government.

What lies ahead?

• Institutions like the ICAR could evaluate bio stimulants to uphold the trust of farmers and ensure their technical usefulness.
• Only those bio stimulants that meet all the criteria of scientific validation and are proven beneficial to farmers could be approved.

Reference

The Indian Express| Regulation of Biostimulants in India