ICL and Lavie Bio announced they have made a significant advancement in the development of biostimulants.

Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), more than a dozen novel microbe candidates, which met the product requirements for efficacy, stability, shelf life and fertilizer compatibility, were computationally identified and verified in multiple greenhouse trials.

The microbes were discovered and validated using Lavie Bio’s Biology Driven Design (BDD) technology platform, powered by Evogene’s MicroBoost AI tech-engine.

In a joint news release, ICL and Lavie Bio state this success paves the way for field trials in both the U.S. and Brazil in the second half of 2024, with results available by year-end.

According to Amit Noam, CEO of Lavie Bio, using ICL’s agricultural expertise was essential in focusing Lavie Bio’s discovery efforts “and has enabled us to advance to field trials in multiple target geographies quickly.”

Lavie Bio said it will continue to leverage AI to drive product development and optimization, while ICL will guide the development and lead the way to product commercialization. The parties aim to start the regulatory process in 2026.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Lavie Bio in the search for a novel solution to address a significant and proven market need in regions strategic to ICL,” said Dr. Elinor Erez, vice president of R&D for ICL Growing Solutions. “We are excited to move forward to field trials and are confident any future novel product will revolutionize how the agricultural community approaches plant resilience and productivity.”