Don’t Get Ripped Off: How to Choose Microbial Biostimulants

Dr. Russell Sharp explains how to choose and use microbial biostimulants for hydroponics, focusing on production/expiry dates, manufacturer credibility, and the trade-offs between liquid and powder formulations.

He recommends trusted suppliers (Legume Technology, Omex/Biomex, Symbiom, Koppert's Trianum P), suggests starting with Bacillus blends and Trichoderma, and advises using seaweed extracts, humic acids and mild fertilizers to feed, not kill, microbes.

https://eutrema.co.uk/shop/fertiliser/liquid-gold-unique-complete-fertiliser/

Ben Lugtenberg — Leiden University

Jos M. Raaijmakers — Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Corné M. J. Pieterse — Utrecht University

Paola Bonfante — University of Turin

Ian R. Sanders — University of Lausanne

Toby Kiers — Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Uta Paszkowski — University of Cambridge

Marcel G. A. van der Heijden — Agroscope

Jan Jansa — Agroscope

Marc-André Selosse — Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)

Francis Martin — INRAE (France)

Jonathan D. Leake — University of Sheffield

David J. Read — University of Sheffield

Katie J. Field — University of Sheffield

David Johnson — University of Aberdeen

Mark Brundrett — University of Western Australia

Sally E. Smith — University of Adelaide

Suzanne Simard — University of British Columbia

Nancy C. Johnson — Northern Arizona University

Matthias C. Rillig — Freie Universität Berlin

Katharine A. Horton — University of Canterbury

Michael J. Ryan — University of Sydney

Caroline P. P. N. “Caro” Veresoglou — Freie Universität Berlin

Tim Daniell — The James Hutton Institute

David E. Crowley — University of California, Riverside

Egbert Schwartz — University of Arizona

Sharon L. Doty — University of Washington

Fitri A. Widiastuti — Bogor Agricultural University

Bernard R. Glick — University of Waterloo

Everlon C. Rigobelo — São Paulo State University (UNESP)

Harsh P. Bais — University of Delaware

Indranil Mukherjee — Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)

Dilfuza Egamberdieva — Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ)

Naveen K. Arora — Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University

Rainer Borriss — Humboldt University of Berlin

Blanca B. Landa — Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (CSIC, Spain)

Philippe Lemanceau — INRAE

Christophe Prigent-Combaret — Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

Sonia Compant — AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Kornelia Smalla — Julius Kühn-Institut

Angela Sessitsch — AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Gustavo Santoyo — Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

Roberto Kolter — Harvard Medical School

Jeffrey L. Dangl — University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Paul Schulze-Lefert — Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research

Marcel Dicke — Wageningen University & Research

Wietse de Boer — Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Linda Thomashow — USDA-ARS (Pullman)

David M. Weller — USDA-ARS (Pullman)

Cheryl B. Anderton — Washington State University

Gary E. Harman — Cornell University

Matteo Lorito — University of Naples Federico II

Sheridan L. Woo — University of Naples Federico II

Christian P. Kubicek — TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology)

Irina S. Druzhinina — TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology)

Enrique Monte — University of Salamanca

Charles M. Kenerley — Texas A&M University

Sam E. Gryzenhout — University of the Free State

László Kredics — University of Szeged

Gábor Szakács — Budapest University of Technology and Economics

B. A. Horwitz — Weizmann Institute of Science

Alfredo Herrera-Estrella — LANGEBIO (CINVESTAV, Mexico)

Alfredo Herrera-Estrella (Plant–microbe) — Irapuato Unit, CINVESTAV

Antonietta “Tetta” Vinale — University of Naples Federico II

Massimo Zaccardelli — CREA (Italy)

Francesco S. “F.” Camera — University of Padua

Antonio Di Pietro — University of Córdoba

Fernando C. “F.” López-Bucio — Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

Pedro A. H. M. Bakker — Utrecht University

Jasper F. van der Putten — Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Giles E. D. Oldroyd — University of Cambridge

Maria J. Harrison — Boyce Thompson Institute

Jean-Michel Ané — University of Wisconsin–Madison

Carla M. “C.” R. Carvalho — University of São Paulo

Paola Angelini — University of Perugia

Andrea Genre — University of Turin

Guillaume Béguiristain — INRAE

Marc-Henri Lebrun — INRAE

José M. “J.” Alvarez — University of Granada

Paola Grenni — Water Research Institute (CNR, Italy)

Anissa Poleatewich — Mycorrhizal Applications (Plant Health Care)

Martin Trépanier — Premier Tech

Maya Dayan — DYNOMYCO

Moran Topf — DYNOMYCO

Inge Hanssen — DCM (Group De Ceuster)

Rob Cannings — Plant Health Care

Pam Marrone — Marrone Bio Innovations

Mark A. Sadowsky — University of Minnesota

James M. Tiedje — Michigan State University

Jo Handelsman — University of Wisconsin–Madison

Patrick A. H. M. Bakker — Utrecht University

Brajesh K. Singh — Western Sydney University

Umer Chaudhry — CSIRO Agriculture and Food

Rana Munns — CSIRO Agriculture and Food

Michael R. McNear Jr. — University of Delaware

Louise E. Egerton-Warburton — California State University, San Bernardino

Thomas R. Horton — SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Katharine A. “K.” Treseder — University of California, Irvine

John D. Bever — University of Kansas

Gregory P. Cheatham — University of Georgia