Goetheanum | Biodynamic Preparations Promote Microorganisms in the Soil

About the job

Biodynamic preparations promote microorganisms in the soil

The use of special preparations is a central element of biodynamic agriculture – but until now, little was known about their mode of action from a scientific perspective.

Jürgen Fritz, an agricultural scientist at the University of Kassel, Germany, presents a model of action for biodynamic preparations in the journal ‹Living Farms› of the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum, Switzerland.

The application of biodynamic preparations changes the soil microbiome. This is the result of investigations by Jürgen Fritz. "We sprayed the preparation and then measured the number of potentially growth-promoting microorganisms in the soil over about four months," says the agricultural scientist with a doctorate and additional qualification in ecological environmental protection. He is a scientific staff member of the Department of Organic Farming and Plant Production at the University of Kassel and coordinates the area of biodynamic agriculture there.

The research team used classical microbiological methods, Multi-SIR analyses for investigating substrate-induced respiration, and DNA sequencing to examine the composition and networking of soil organisms in soil samples from 23 locations in Germany and France. After spraying, the researchers recorded a significant increase in growth-promoting microorganisms that lasted several weeks. Soils treated with biodynamic preparations thus differ statistically significantly from untreated soils.

"Now we have a comprehensible model of action for the first time," states Jürgen Fritz. However, it should be noted: "Inoculation with growth-promoting microorganisms does not work like classic nitrogen fertilisation, which always produces identical effects. The situations in the soil are very diverse. As a result, we have good effects with the preparations in one year, but no effects the following year. Many questions remain open."

These and other findings form a central basis for the international research discourse on biodynamic agriculture. This includes the international biodynamic research conference at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, United Kingdom, organised by the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum, the Research Ring Germany, the Biodynamic Association in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Agricultural University, United Kingdom.

Interview with Jürgen Fritz The Secret of Biodynamic Preparations Unveiled, ‹Living Farms› No. 1/2025, pages 18f., print and web

International Biodynamic Research Conference The whole and its parts. Researching biodynamic agriculture, 31 August to 4 September 2025, Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, United Kingdom

Cover image Agricultural scientist Jürgen Fritz (Photo: Demeter Switzerland/Patrick Schellenberg)