New Product Could Unlock More Nutrition Within Soil

By: Tom J Bechman

Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? Source is not only new, it’s also the first product from a new player in agriculture. Called Sound Agriculture, the company formed in 2013.

Eric Davidson, co-founder and CEO, says Source is a unique, science-backed molecule that activates microbes within the soil. It’s not a biological itself — its active ingredient is a chemical. But it activates bacteria within the soil to increase availability of nutrients during the season.

“We look for biomolecular chemicals in our discovery process,” Davidson says. “It’s unique because although it’s not a biological itself, it affects biology in the soil and helps the biology become more active. The result is more efficient, more productive plants.”

Travis Bayer, also a co-founder of Sound Agriculture, explains that Source works on two types of beneficial bacteria. It signals bacteria that solubilize phosphorus to go to work, resulting in higher phosphorus availability to roots. Various agronomists have noted that some phosphorus becomes tied up in the soil. The concept here, Bayer says, is for increased biological activity to unlock some of that phosphorus.

At the same time, the active ingredient within Source awakens other bacteria that fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, Bayer says. Once these bacteria function, more nitrogen becomes available for plants.