The aim of the assays is to determine putative mode of action and product effectivity related to seed vigour, seedling establishment and germination efficiency.

Rapid high throughput screening is done in-house and conducted on the following:

• Germination assays
• Mungbean bioassay
• Seedling bioassays

The objective of utilising growing rooms is to conduct tests in a controlled environment whereby results from bioassays can be confirmed. More importantly, growing rooms represent the first phase in screening whether a product can proceed to early development and development phase testing.

The duration of all growing room trials are approximately 6 weeks long.

In this system, temperatures, light humidity, and nutrition is controlled. This allows for direct assessment of product effectivity since there is minimal influence from environmental variation. Whole plant evaluations are observed and measured. These measurements include root and shoot growth, physiological measurements (e.g. chlorophyll, metabolites, etc.), and yield (crop dependant).

This testing stage represents the first line of experimentation in the early development and development pipeline. Greenhouses allow for larger scale testing which equates to greater statistical power, and for the screening of a variety of crops as space is not limited. Furthermore, greenhouses represent a natural environment which provides a better indication of what may happen in the open field.

In this semi-controlled system, plants are supplied with nutrition, irrigation and potting medium is standardised. Whole plant evaluations which include root and shoot growth, physiological measurements (e.g. chlorophyll, metabolites, etc.), and yield (crop dependant) are recorded.

The final research step focuses on conducting trials in a farm setting. The purpose of these trials is four-fold: 1. Investigate how the product performs in the natural environment; 2. Seasonal evaluations can be conducted; 3. Assessment of product performance in a variety of climates, soil conditions and locations; 4. Provides insight into how best to integrate product into farmer schedule/practices. Contract Research trials are conducted by certified independent research institutions as well as accomplished agronomists that form part of the Afrikelp team. The field trials performed include, statistical plot trials and commercial or demonstration trials. Trials conducted on farms allow for further assessments of optimal application dosages and allow for continuous testing on new varieties and hybrids, which ultimately serves in boosting our data generated to support our customers.