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From research project to specialised product for sainfoin cultivation: a bacterium isolated at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) is turned into a commercial inoculum by a German seed company.
(Braunschweig) From project to product – such success stories are rare in basic agricultural research. In this case, researchers at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) in Braunschweig discovered a new species of nodule-forming bacteria at the roots of sainfoin, which gives the forage crop a growth boost by supplying it with nitrogen. Legumes – that is, protein crops – are actually known for forming a symbiotic relationship with nodule forming bacteria in their root zone, which help them with their nitrogen supply. However, this does not work equally well in all soils or for all legume species. For example, soy and lupins do not thrive in all locations and sometimes need a bit of a helping hand to grow productively. The same is true for sainfoin (Onobrychis viccifolia), which is why this forage legume “plays only a supporting role” in German crop rotations. This is now about to change, thanks to the bacterial strain Mesorhizobium onobrychidis OM4, which was isolated at the JKI (see the scientific publication https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01099-22).
“Although sainfoin has many beneficial properties for animal nutrition and within the agricultural ecosystem, it is hardly grown at all in Germany anymore,” explains Dr Torsten Thünen of the Julius Kühn Institute. The main reasons for this are the forage crop’s high site requirements, its sensitive early growth stage and its poor competitiveness in mixed crops. “Many of these weaknesses can be attributed to an unreliable nitrogen supply provided by the nodule bacteria – the rhizobia – associated with the plant’s roots, as described in the literature,” explains the crop production expert from the JKI.
In a third party founded project on sainfoin coordinated by Torsten Thünen (funded by FNR https://international.fnr.de/), his JKI colleague Dr Samad Ashrafi isolated a new bacterial species from sainfoin nodules. The species was described as Mesorhizobium onobrychidis OM4. In inoculation trials, the researchers observed a biomass increase of up to four times that of untreated control plants. In further trials, additional Mesorhizobium strains were isolated from sainfoin nodules, including, once again, previously undescribed species. In the inoculation experiment, these new isolates were also compared with M. onobrychidis. “Although they also exhibited good growth-promoting properties the OM4-strain still performed best,” says Dr Thünen. The positive results achieved in the laboratory encouraged the scientists to present the growth-promoting effects of the bacterial isolates to a seed company.
The company, which, amongst other things, markets the only German variety of sainfoin, showed great interest in the Mesorhizobium strains isolated by JKI. It repeated the inoculation trials carried out at the JKI and confirmed the particular growth-promoting effect of M. onobrychidis OM4. Consequently, the company expressed a desire to market the bacterial strain as a commercial inoculum specifically for the cultivation of sainfoin.
At the end of April 2026, a transfer agreement for the M. onobrychidis OM4 strain was signed between the JKI and “Feldsaaten Freudenberger” (https://www.freudenberger.net/en/). The company started to develop a product and has announced plans to launch it during the current 2026 growing season. The product will contain the beneficial bacterial strain discovered and isolated at the JKI..
Contact to the JKI-Scientist:
Dr. Torsten Thünen
Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants
Institute for Crop and Soil Science
Bundesallee, 38116 Braunschweig
Tel. +49 (0) 531 596 2317
E-Mail: torsten.thuenen@julius-kuehn.de
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01099-22
Roots of sainfoin plants with their characteristic nodules, formed by the beneficial nitrogen-fixing ...
Source: Samad Ashrafi/JKI
Copyright: © Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) in the field trial site at the JKI in Braunschweig.
Source: Torsten Thuenen/JKI
Copyright: © Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Biology, Environment / ecology, Zoology / agricultural and forest sciences
transregional, national
Cooperation agreements, Research results
English
Roots of sainfoin plants with their characteristic nodules, formed by the beneficial nitrogen-fixing ...
Source: Samad Ashrafi/JKI
Copyright: © Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) in the field trial site at the JKI in Braunschweig.
Source: Torsten Thuenen/JKI
Copyright: © Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
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