The Science Behind Pivot Bio PROVEN®
Agriculture is dependent upon the soil. But unlike a combine or tractor, soil is more than just a tool that farmers use to grow crops. It’s a living, breathing world beneath our feet.
What is soil made of?
Soil is alive, dynamic and always changing. It is the factory of life. Inside each teaspoon of soil are millions of microorganisms – from bacteria to fungi, nematodes to protozoa – all forming a balanced ecosystem with minerals, plant roots, insects, water and air. As these microbes feed on organic matter and each other, they stabilize the soil, add structure, and release vital nutrients to the plants above.
Of the millions of microorganisms in the soil, only certain microbes are responsible for converting atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) to plant-available nitrogen (NH₃). Their mission is nitrogen fixation.
At Pivot Bio, we’ve spent a decade studying how microbes work in nature, intent on finding the microbes that fix nitrogen to create a more sustainable nitrogen for farmers.
How do microbes fix nitrogen?
Nitrogen is one of the building blocks of life. It’s also one of the most prevalent resources on the planet, making up 80% of earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, that nitrogen is just out of reach of the crops. Atmospheric nitrogen bonds are very strong, complicating the process of breaking down the nutrient into a plant-ready form.
Some soil microbes can break down atmospheric nitrogen and create a usable form for plants. However, that inherent ability has been rendered dormant by a century of synthetic chemical fertilizer use, blunting this all-natural ability. Pivot Bio is able to improve the ability of microbes to break down that atmospheric nitrogen and change it into a usable form by activating their own DNA.
These microbes are then turned into itty-bitty nitrogen factories.
How does Pivot Bio PROVEN® work?
After years of research, looking at soil samples from around the world, Pivot Bio identified the microbes with the code for nitrogen production in their DNA. Using our proprietary tech platform, we are able to use the microbe’s own genetics to activate and supercharge nitrogen production. Specifically, Pivot Bio PROVEN® microbes take the triple-bonded atmospheric nitrogen molecules and snap them, creating the ammonia that plants need to grow and produce.
Think of bonded nitrogen as two LEGO bricks that have been snapped together. It’s difficult to separate just two bricks, but when more pieces are added, it can create enough leverage to make separation possible. Pivot Bio PROVEN microbes include these specialized tools to break apart a molecule that otherwise would require a tremendous amount of energy to separate.
While the microbes themselves need nitrogen — as does every living organism — they can only use so much. Nitrogen is in a constant state of motion and easily flows from one state to another. As the microbes produce excess nitrogen, it seeps out of the cell walls, and due to the close proximity to the corn roots, it is immediately taken up by the plant.
The microbes never stop producing nitrogen, ensuring that there is a steady supply exiting the microbial membrane and available for the plant.
Why is Pivot Bio PROVEN better than synthetic nitrogen?
While synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has been an important tool to fuel crop productivity — it is not a perfect or sustainable solution.
To manufacture synthetic nitrogen, we rely on the Haber-Bosch process which is one of the largest industrial processes on the planet and also one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse (GHG) gasses. In fact, the energy needed to split atmospheric nitrogen molecules produces more than five hundred million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Scientists have spent the last century refining and improving the Haber-Bosch process to make it more efficient and less harmful. However, right now it’s about as good as it’s going to get. We’re hitting the thermodynamic limit of the process, so it’s just not possible to reduce energy inputs any further.
Pivot Bio PROVEN® is more sustainable than any other nitrogen product on the market – both in the way it’s produced and in how it works in the field. Unlike synthetic nitrogen that relies on a complex network of international inputs and fossil fuels, Pivot Bio PROVEN microbes are produced using fermentation – requiring only sugar, water and basic nutrients – and next to no carbon emissions. Once applied, our microbes associate to the plant root, keeping nitrogen with the plant where it belongs.
Thanks to our microbial breakthroughs, we’ve done more than create a sustainable product; we’re supporting healthier, more productive and resilient crops, marking a turning point in nitrogen management for farmers and the planet.
