Czech crop invention heads to European farms through British partnership

For Jaroslav Nisler, a discovery that could help farmers grow better crops began with molecules doing something unexpected. His team was investigating chemical compounds when it noticed that some encouraged plants to develop stronger roots. That observation became the starting point for TFU, a biostimulant now moving from research in Olomouc towards commercial use in European agriculture.

“We were looking for some different molecules, but then we discovered that the molecules support root growth, which they were supposed not to do.”

Jaroslav, a researcher at the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences who collaborates with Palacký University, studies compounds that influence plant growth and development. His laboratory works on plant biostimulants and growth regulators: substances applied in small quantities to affect processes ranging from root development to the maintenance of chlorophyll, the pigment essential for photosynthesis.

Palacký University announced in August that British company INTRACROP had secured an exclusive licence to commercialise the European-patented TFU technology. The agreement builds on years of cooperation between the researchers and the company, which has successfully tested the compound as a seed treatment. According to the university, that approach reduces the amount of substance required and simplifies application for farmers.

A stronger start below ground

TFU’s main initial effect is on the developing root system. Jaroslav explains that the compound inhibits the inactivation of auxins, naturally occurring plant hormones involved in root growth. Keeping those hormones active helps the young plant establish itself more quickly, with benefits for subsequent growth above ground.

“When the seed is treated with a molecule called TFU, the seed produces bigger roots, or the roots are growing faster. That’s the main effect.”

A more extensive root system helps a plant take up water and nutrients from the soil. For farmers, however, the crucial question is whether that early advantage translates into a better harvest. Palacký University reports that INTRACROP has conducted more than 80 European field trials, mainly involving cereals, with an average yield increase of 0.32 tonnes per hectare. The company is also investigating phosphorus-use efficiency and testing the technology in Australia and Canada.

Jaroslav says the yield response is particularly interesting because seed treatments are often intended to improve establishment or protect against fungal attack. Seeing a benefit carry through to the harvest makes TFU commercially attractive. It also illustrates the lengthy process behind an agricultural invention: identifying an unexpected effect in the laboratory is only the beginning; the compound must then demonstrate its usefulness under field conditions.

Two molecules, different jobs

TFU follows an earlier invention, MTU, already sold by INTRACROP in its product Status. Although both are biostimulants, Jaroslav stresses that they work differently. TFU encourages root development, while MTU delays senescence—the ageing process in plants—and helps prevent the loss of chlorophyll. Applied to leaves, it allows plants to maintain photosynthesis and accumulate more biomass that can subsequently support grain production.

“MTU helps plants keep more chlorophyll, do more photosynthesis, capture more carbon, CO₂, take more nitrogen.”

The wider ambition is to help crops use fertiliser more efficiently. He says five years of nitrogen-deficiency trials involving MTU or Status have produced encouraging results. Under the conditions tested, researchers were able to reduce fertiliser application while maintaining both yield and the nitrogen content of the grain, an important measure because it relates to protein production. “It means the same protein harvest from the field with forty percent less fertilizer.”

That finding concerns MTU and Status, rather than a demonstrated forty-percent saving from TFU. The newer molecule’s potential is still being explored, including how it might improve phosphorus use. Both approaches seek to get more from the nutrients available to plants, but their effects and applications need to be assessed separately.

For Jaroslav, commercial development has not ended the scientific investigation. He is still trying to establish MTU’s precise molecular mechanism and understand more fully how plant ageing is controlled. TFU offers another line of research, with clearer knowledge of the enzymes involved. The partnership with INTRACROP brings those laboratory questions into contact with a practical agricultural goal: helping crops turn available water and nutrients into a productive harvest.