Weeds Kill Weeds is Our Concept: Gustavo Sosa on How INBIOAR Uses Plants as Natural Sources to Control Weeds

Gustavo Sosa is a Forest Engineer from the National University of Santiago del Estero and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the National University of Rosario. He is an entrepreneur in biological sciences and Ag-technology. After his postdoctoral studies at Ohio State University, he started different companies in Argentina with the support of investors from the US and Argentina. He has led INBIOAR since its foundation in 2010 with capital partners. He teaches plant biochemistry at the University of El Salvador and has been a tutor of M.S. and Ph.D. students. He is a consultant and mentor of technological startups. 

SME Business Review contacted Mr. Sosa for an interview to gain insights into his innovative work in biological sciences and Ag-technology, as well as his leadership in pioneering sustainable agricultural solutions through INBIOAR. Read on to learn more.

The First Bio-Farmers In The World

The biological control of pests was key to obtaining reasonable crop production since the first farmers in Egypt. They understood, like no one else, the importance of keeping pests away to produce more food. They observed that some plants were not attacked by insects or repelled insects. Slowly, they understood the importance of those plants as the first agrochemicals in the ancient crop protection discipline. The first farmers were scientists with a very acute sense of observation and improvement in crop production. 

Modern agriculture relies on chemical control. Crop production has increased, providing a great opportunity to feed millions of people worldwide. However, the dramatic increases in production have had secondary effects: weed species resistant to current synthetic chemicals and environmental contamination. Layers of chemicals remain in farm soil, waiting to be (slowly) degraded. Meanwhile, the wind carries soil particles coated with these chemicals from the farms to everywhere, including our drinking water resources, cities, clothes, and the air we breathe. What comes next? Should we continue to live this way? Of course not. So, what needs to change?

Today, we do not have the chance to do what the ancient farmers did in Egypt. They cultivated specific plant species on the border of crops to control pests. Instead, we now use natural molecules from different biological sources. The 2.0 version of the original farmers in Egypt is now found in many companies and startups worldwide, proposing natural solutions in the crop protection industry.

Originally, the source of natural control came from the knowledge the Egyptians had about plant-to-plant interaction, plant-insect interaction, etc. Today, natural molecules also come from fungi and bacteria species. It would be something amazing for an ancient Egyptian farmer to witness the use of biologicals on modern farms!

In many ways, modern pest control is a return to the original sources of Egyptian knowledge, thanks to the biotechnology "touch." However, we now face a new problem beyond pests: caring for the environment.

The synthetic active ingredients have brought to our crop protection era the control of pests and incredibly high levels of production. In parallel, undesirable effects have been observed, such as weeds resistant to many chemicals and contamination of the environment where agriculture is practiced.

The answer to both problems may come from biologicals for controlling resistant weed species. New biological agrochemicals with novel modes of action may address weed resistance, while biochemicals do not contaminate the environment. In addition to this approach, we have observed in our lab that many different weak active ingredients with varying modes of action are suitable for weed control, but this is not yet practical on farms. We cannot yet use many weak chemicals to kill weeds due to the cost.

The management in crop protection seems to be an important tool in the use of biologicals to avoid the problems we observed with synthetic chemicals. We must learn from the synthetic era and not create new weeds resistant to biologicals. Too much of one thing all the time is not good.

What is true is that many of the different problems originated by synthetic chemicals may be avoided with biologicals. But the crop production levels using natural chemicals must be the same or higher, at the same costs, as the synthetic chemicals used on farms. Will the biologicals meet this expectation? It seems they will.

In the market today, we can find many biofungicides and bioinsecticides with good results. However, efficient (cost-effective) bioherbicides seem harder to find. In our lab, we are working with plants as natural sources to control weeds. Weeds kill weeds is our concept.

We found a systemic plant extract that kills weeds with just one application. We named this particular plant extract ‘glyphosate look-alike’ because its effect on weeds mimics the use of glyphosate. However, we still need to work on lowering the doses.

A final word about biologicals is that they can be the next generation of pest control in the field. But we should be mindful of the secondary effects and the management of natural chemicals. Natural does not mean good if we use them every day.

The use of biologicals may have negative effects on wild flora and fauna if used without control. We already know the impact that tons of the same synthetic chemicals can produce in the field—not only on wild flora but also on the human environment. We should care for the environment, which will support future farming to be carried out by future generations. We do not kick the same stone twice.

For more information, please visit www.inbioar.com.

Gustavo Sosa, President & Founder, INBIOAR

“I dedicate this article to the memory of my great friend and former colleague, Diego Rodriguez Laguens. We once worked together in this research field, and though he passed away 20 years ago, his influence remains ever-present.”