Federico
Rivas

Biography

The use of beneficial microorganisms for agriculture involves several challenges. On the one hand, the microbial characterization of the properties of interest (growth promotion, biological control of pest insects, antagonism of plant pathogens) on the other, the production processes such as forms of mass production, harvesting, scaling, formulation and application of microorganisms to agricultural crops. In particular, the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, UV radiation) to which microorganisms may be exposed on certain occasions represent a risk to their survival and therefore their effectiveness. In this sense, an appropriate formulation of fungi and bacteria, for their use as agricultural bio-inputs, is essential to minimize viability losses during production processes, storage and finally after application under environmental conditions. I recently finished my doctoral studies based on the phenotypic and molecular characterization of entomopathogenic endophytic fungi with the potential to promote plant growth and the biological control of pest insects and plant pathogens. These studies made it possible to determine the rhizospheric and endophytic colonization capacity when applied to seed coatings, their behavior in the presence of soil larvae or phytopathogens, as well as to verify the induction of plant hormones. In addition, currently my research is focused on the development of multifunctional bio-inputs for agricultural use. Several of the microorganisms fulfill more than one function in nature, and few commercial developments make use of this capacity. The Metarhizium fungal genus is used mainly as a bioinsecticide, however, it is also capable of persisting associated with the roots where it fulfills the functions of promoting plant growth and antagonizing other phytopathogens. Multifunctional bioinputs in seed coatings can also contain more than one microorganism, and in particular in soybean the use of rhizobia is widespread, and therefore determining the compatibility and complementarity between microorganisms is essential. In this line, the physiological optimization of microorganisms so that they can withstand better stress conditions or the production of resistance structures such as microsclerotia are other areas that are being studied. Finally, the development of biopolymers that can be used in seed coatings that incorporate microorganisms, or their encapsulation are lines of research that also work on the formulation of bioinputs and in collaboration with other groups.

Projects