Embrace biostimulants as a green solution

If Green Revolution was built with the help of urea and phosphates, India’s next agri-revolution could be sown with seaweed, microbes, and the intelligence of nature

- NAVEEN P SINGH DINESH C MEENA

FEW IMAGES CAPTURE the spirit of Green Revolution more vividly than the sight of sacks of chemical fertiliser stacked ona farmer’s porch, symbols of hope that once promised to transform India’s food security overnight.

The sacks represent the dramatic shift in agricultural practices starting in the 1960s, when modern inputs like high-yield seeds, mechanisation, irrigation, and synthetic fertilisers replaced traditional farming methods. Yet, behind this promise lies a complex legacy of both miraculous productivity gains and emerging environmental and economic challenges. The chemicals that rescued India from famine in the 20th century now pose a threat. Fertiliser use has topped a national average of 139.81 kg/hectare (ha) and risen as high as 247.61 kg/ha in states like Punjab. The resulting bounty hides mounting costs, bills, declining soil health, water contamination, and biodiversity loss for smallholders. Today, nearly one-fifth of India’s agricultural greenhouse gases come from fertiliser use.

As farmers struggle with crops amid heatwaves and erratic monsoons, a new class of green farm aids is taking root: biostimulants. They are derived from an array of natural sources; seaweed, humic and fulvic acids, amino acids, vitamins, and beneficial microbes. What makes biostimulants unique is not what they add, but what they awaken. When applied to crops, these compounds stimulate physiological responses, boosting nutrient absorption, drought tolerance, and root growth, while enhancing yield quality and resilience.

Unlike chemical fertilisers that can exhaust soils, biostimulants help restore them.