Fertiberia has launched NSAFE, a bio-inhibitor the company claims prevents nitrogen losses, protects soil biodiversity and increases yields.

“It is the first microbiological development on the market with a nitrification inhibiting effect,” notes a company news release. “This technology allows fertilizers to enrich the soil through their microbial nature, thus offering a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemically synthesized inhibitors.”

NSAFE will be applied in a first phase in Fertiberia TECH’s Nergetic DZ+ range and will be progressively incorporated into the rest of the products in the Nergetic line in the coming years. This technology will initially be launched on the Spanish market, where it has already been registered by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food after a thorough certification process, and procedures for launching it internationally are already underway.

As Alfredo Segura, commercial director of the Grupo Fertiberia explains, nitrogen is a key element for plant growth, but often some of it is lost in the soil or air due to leaching and volatilization processes. “This pioneering technology protects nitrogen and prolongs its activity, remaining active in the soil for a longer amount of time and allowing plants to absorb it more slowly. And it does so with a twist: respecting microbial life and without having an impact on microorganisms present in the soil.”

NSAFE does not act on ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+) like synthetic inhibitors do, but rather it acts on nitric nitrogen (NO3-) directly, being able to absorb it in its organic structure in protein form and release it in organic nitrogen form after the end of its life cycle.