Hey readers, welcome back!

Good stuff this week!. Early-stage research from Argentina is showing the potential of genetic editing microorganisms instead of modifying the crop. BASF closes an important acquisition in bioinsecticides. An amoeba gets to be used in a basil downy mildew emergency in Italy. And a bacteria from Brazil winning as a drought resistance tool.

Genetic editing in agriculture has always targeted the plant to improve performance. A team at INTA and CONICET is testing whether that logic can be applied to the microorganisms responsible for biological nitrogen fixation.

The work was presented at Agroactiva 2026 earlier this month. The research starts from a simple observation: bacterial strains used in commercial inoculants today have been selected for effectiveness, not engineered for it.

The idea is to gene-edit the bacterial strains already used in commercial inoculants to increase their biological nitrogen fixation capacity. The same inoculants farmers already use, with improved microbial genetics.

The research is early. Preliminary results in soybean point to yield increases of up to 6% and a 22% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions, both linked to more efficient biological nitrogen use.

Nitrogen is where the economic pressure sits, according to researcher Nicolás Ayub. Synthetic fertilization costs are rising and are exposed to international price volatility. Gene-edited inoculants would reduce that dependence without changing how farmers operate.

Argentina's regulatory framework helps. Microorganisms edited without incorporating foreign genetic material are classified as non-GMO under current national rules, a distinction that most other countries have not yet defined, and that significantly shortens the path to market.

This breakthrough could transform how the biofertilizer industry works. The next step is proving it works at scale, in real growing conditions.

On March 31, BASF completed the acquisition of AgBiTech, an Australian company that has spent more than two decades developing nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) technology for insect control. AgBiTech operates in Brazil, the United States, and Australia, and its portfolio targets lepidopteran larvae, the caterpillars that cause significant damage in cotton, maize, and soybean.

NPV are naturally occurring viruses that infect and kill specific pest insects without affecting non-target species, beneficial insects, or vertebrates. The technology has been registered and used in commercial agriculture for years, but always in the hands of smaller, specialized companies. BASF's acquisition is a signal that one of the world's largest agrochemical companies sees room to scale it globally.

Brazil is the first priority. It is the world's largest consumer of biological inputs, and lepidopteran pests in soy and cotton there are a significant and growing problem. From there, BASF plans to scale AgBiTech's technology across its global crop protection portfolio.

Basil downy mildew (Peronospora belbahrii) can destroy 70 to 80% of a crop, and in severe cases it does it in three to four days. Italy, the center of Europe's basil market, is running out of registered chemical solutions to solve the attack as conventional fungicides face increasing restrictions.

On June 8, Italian authorities granted a 120-day emergency authorization for AXPERA, a biofungicide developed by French company Amoéba from a lysate of Willaertia magna C2c Maky, an amoeba first isolated from thermal waters in France.

AXPERA leaves no residues, which matters in a crop where roughly 30% of global production is organic. The EU approved the active substance as low risk in 2024. Koppert handles distribution under an agreement signed in June 2025.

When regulators restrict the chemistry, biologicals are filling the gap!

Priestia aryabhattai, formerly known as Bacillus aryabhattai, is a drought-tolerant bacteria emerging as a practical tool against water stress in crops.

In 2016, researchers at Embrapa Meio Ambiente began investigating drought-tolerant bacteria in the Caatinga, the semiarid vegetation region of northeastern Brazil. They noticed the microbial community during the dry season was different from the one during the rainy season. The bacteria surviving the drought were the ones worth studying.

That research led to AURAS, currently the only product registered with Brazil's MAPA for mitigating water and thermal stress in plants, with no registered competitors. The bacteria was isolated from roots of the mandacaru cactus, one of the most drought-tolerant plants in the Brazilian semiarid. Under water stress, the bacteria colonizes the root system, produces exopolysaccharides that hydrate the roots, and also fixes nitrogen, solubilizes phosphate, and produces phytohormones. It does not fit clearly into one product category.

Commercial use started in maize. Trials in soybean and common bean are still ongoing. AURAS is being presented this week at Hortitec 2026 in Holambra, São Paulo, where Embrapa is expanding the conversation to horticulture crops.