Tucked away in the House Agriculture Committee-passed farm bill is the cornerstone of a new regulatory scheme for crop inputs. The difference with the potentially forthcoming new regulations and other proposed expansions of existing ones is that this time it was the industry’s idea. The farm bill draft includes the first proposed official definition of a plant biostimulant, which describes it as “a substance or micro-organism that, when applied to seeds, plants, or the rhizosphere, stimulates natural processes to enhance or benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, or crop quality and yield.” This proposal was called “a major step forward for biostimulant manufacturers …&rdquo...

TAGS – Europe, North America