BM START: Organic Biostimulant for flowering and fruit setting

Improve your performance, Increase your Income

BM START® is a liquid biostimulant based on the GoActiv® technology, which is derived from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum. Developed by NPP, GoActiv® employs a cold extraction process to preserve and purify the seaweed's active ingredients. BM START® functions as a plant physiology activator, enhancing nutrition, flowering, and fruit development in a variety of crops. It stimulates chlorophyll synthesis, root system expansion, and enzyme production related to plant nutrition, which supports vigorous vegetative growth. Additionally, BM START® boosts flowering hormone production, enhancing flower-to-fruit conversion rates and fruit coloration.

This technology is pre-validated.

9•9

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 9/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

can lead to more reliable crop yields, which can improve livelihoods and food security.

The poor: Positive high

Income increases for all types of farmers, including smallholders

Under 18: No impact

Women: Positive high

With its simplicity and minimal technical requirements, the technology can be easily adopted by women farmers.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

It helps crops adapt to climatic stressors by improving plant resilience, ensuring consistent production in diverse environmental conditions.

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

By improving crop yields with less land, water, and inputs, it can lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions per unit of crop produced, contributing to climate mitigation efforts.

Biodiversity: Not verified

Environmental health: Not verified

Problem

Nutrient Use Deficiency: Many plants face inefficiencies in nutrient absorption and utilization, which can limit growth and yield.
Sub-optimal Flowering and Fruit Setting: Poor flowering and low fruit set rates reduce overall yield potential.
Abiotic Stress: Plants frequently encounter environmental stresses such as temperature fluctuations and water scarcity, affecting their growth and productivity.

Solution

Enhanced Nutrient Absorption and Utilization: BM START® increases chlorophyll synthesis, root development, and enzyme production, which optimizes nutrient uptake, contributing to faster growth and healthier plants.
Improved Flowering and Fruit Setting: Through stimulation of flowering hormones and anthocyanin mechanisms, BM START® enhances the flowering process and improves the rate of flower conversion to fruit, leading to higher-quality and more abundant harvests.
Resilience Against Abiotic Stress: The fortifying action of GoActiv® strengthens plant resilience to environmental stresses, helping maintain yield even under challenging conditions.

Key points to design your program

The BM START® biostimulant technology addresses key agricultural challenges, such as nutrient deficiencies, suboptimal flowering, and inconsistent crop growth. With applications in various crops, it has demonstrated yield increases of up to 231% in mango, significantly enhancing food production and quality (SDG 2). By promoting more resilient plant growth and greater harvest consistency, BM START® supports environmental sustainability and climate resilience through reduced water and fertilizer requirements (SDG 13).

BM START® also fosters inclusive agricultural development by simplifying crop management, making it accessible to women and young farmers (SDG 5). It complements other sustainable agricultural practices, like integrated pest management and efficient irrigation systems, making it an excellent fit for development programs focused on boosting food security, incomes, and sustainability.

Partnering with development institutions can amplify its impact, providing technical support and facilitating broader adoption in regions where it can most improve livelihoods and environmental health.

Cost: $$$ 12.33 USD

Initial cost for 1L

ROI: $$$ 231 %

Yield increase on mango

3,102.40 USD

Additional revenue per hectare

IP

Patent granted, Copyright

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 9 out of 9

Common use by intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Côte d’Ivoire	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Egypt	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Mali	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Morocco	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Africa	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tunisia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

Directly improves farmer productivity and income (see ROI)

Goal 2: zero hunger

Direct impact on crop production, including for food crops.

Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

BM START is organic certified (Ecocert)

Goal 13: climate action

The use of BM START improves crop resilience to abiotic stress, including the effects of climate change

To use BM START® effectively, follow these guidelines:

Application Rate: Use BM START® at a dose of 2 liters per hectare per application.
Number of Applications: Apply BM START® a total of three times throughout the plant’s flowering and early fruiting stages.
Application Timing:
- 1st Application: At the beginning of flowering.
- 2nd Application: When petals start to fall.
- 3rd Application: When the first fruits appear.
Coverage and Compatibility: BM START® is versatile and can be applied to a wide variety of crops, including fruit trees and vegetables, across different climates.
Equipment and Mixing: BM START® can be applied through standard spraying equipment. Ensure it is evenly distributed across the targeted area for consistent coverage.
Recommended Crops and Expected Results: BM START® has shown significant yield improvements, such as a 231% increase in mango yield. For best results, apply according to the schedule and recommended dose.