RITTMO is a private nonprofit research institute created in 2001 and working on fertilisation and reuse of biomasses to produce fertilizers under sustainable conditions: preserve soil quality, ensure agronomic interest, etc. RITTMO’s searchers work on:
- Soil microbial indicators that are affected by agricultural practices and application of fertlizers,
- New products that can be developed to solve agroenvironmental issues (reduction of GreenHousGasses emission, soil quality), biostimulants, plants’ nutrition
- Processes for biomasses conversion to fertilizers
RITTMO conducts studies in:
- Laboratory for soil microbiology, plant physiology, genomics, air quality
- Pilot studies for biomass processing
- Greenhouses and growth chambers for trials in controlled conditions
- Management of fields trials
RITTMO is also expert in regulation of fertilizers in France and Europe, working on various working groups of the European committee of normalization (CEN/TC223, CEN/TC260 and CEN/TC455) with convenorship of CEN/TC260/WG8 and Chair of CEN/TC223.
Based on this expertise, RITTMO helps firms (having wastes to recycle, proposing services to transform wastes, producing fertilizers, soil improvers, growing media and plants’ biostimulants) in adopting innovation to develop their business.
RITTMO is also working with farmers associations to take needs of farmers into account when developing new products.
Role in ReLEAF
RITTMO participates in the WP1 and is leader of the task concerning the user requirements and regulations for fertilizer production. A market landscape analysis will be performed for detecting desired characteristics for the end-users and key aspects that could condition the future sector development (e.g., advantages and shortcoming, regulatory, legal, or geographical limitations, etc.).
RITTMO is also leader of WP3, which focuses on fertilizer efficiency, soil quality and safety assessment. They are in charge of different trials and essays on controlled conditions such as:
- Assessment of Nitrogen release with a possibility to evaluate the impact of coating agents on nitrogen release
- Assessment of bio stimulation effects of some fertilizers produced in the project using screening tests in pots on lettuce
- Evaluation of nutrient losses in terms of N lixiviation and volatilization (NH3 and N2O) for different fertilizers produced in the project.
RITTMO will manage field demonstration in two localities in France. In Brittany (northwest of France associated to an oceanic climate, with mild and rainy winters, and cool and windy summers) they will manage field trials with local partners concerning three fertilizers produced in RELEAF project, on local crops (cabbage). Field demonstration will be also managed by RITTMO in Alsace located at the northeast of France and characterized by a semi-continental climate. As in Britany, trials will concern located crops.