Microbial Technology for Modern Agriculture
From strain selection and fermentation to commercial-scale agricultural applications.
AgroBioTechNZ combines microbiology, specialist fermentation and field research to develop biological technologies designed for practical agricultural systems.
Harnessing the Functions of Beneficial Microorganisms
Soil microorganisms perform critical functions within agricultural systems, influencing nutrient cycling, nutrient availability and interactions within the rhizosphere.
AgroBioTechNZ focuses on microorganisms with specific functional characteristics that can be harnessed within crop production systems.
Rather than approaching biological agriculture as a single solution, we select microbial technologies according to the function they are intended to perform — from biological nitrogen fixation and phosphorus solubilisation to supporting nutrient cycling and rhizosphere activity.
Specialist Microbial Fermentation
The performance of a microbial product depends not only on the microorganism selected, but on how it is cultured, produced and handled.
AgroBioTechNZ has specialist microbial fermentation capability in Christchurch, New Zealand, allowing selected cultures to be grown under controlled conditions and produced at commercial scale.
By managing the production process locally, we maintain control from microbial culture through fermentation and finished product manufacture.
Our capabilities include:
- Microbial culture and propagation
- Controlled liquid fermentation
- Commercial-scale production
- Product formulation
- Quality control and microbial enumeration
- Agricultural product development
Biology Requires Quality Control
Living microbial products require a different approach to quality than conventional agricultural inputs.
Our production and quality processes focus on maintaining microbial viability, culture integrity and consistency throughout manufacture.
Microbial populations can be assessed using laboratory techniques including culture-based enumeration, helping confirm viable colony-forming units within finished products.
This allows AgroBioTechNZ to manufacture products to defined microbial specifications rather than simply relying on the presence of biological ingredients.
From Laboratory to Field
The value of microbial technology is ultimately determined in the field.
Our development process extends beyond microbial selection and fermentation. AgroBioTechNZ evaluates biological technologies under New Zealand growing conditions to understand how they perform within practical crop production systems.
Field research across cereals, forage crops, potatoes, vegetables and other crops is helping us build a growing body of evidence around the role of microbial technologies in modern crop nutrition.
Explore Our Research →
Microbial Development & Manufacturing
Our fermentation and microbiology capability also provides a platform for collaboration with agricultural businesses seeking to develop or manufacture microbial technologies.
From early-stage concept development through to pilot production and commercial manufacture, AgroBioTechNZ can work with industry partners to explore biological solutions for agricultural applications.