FprEN 17714

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 17714:2023
01-maj-2023
Rastlinski biostimulanti - Določevanje koncentracije mikroorganizmov
Plant biostimulants - Determination of microorganisms' concentration
Pflanzen-Biostimulanzien - Bestimmung der Konzentration von Mikroorganismen
Biostimulants des végétaux - Détermination de la concentration en microorganismes
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 17714
ICS:
65.080 Gnojila Fertilizers
oSIST prEN 17714:2023 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

oSIST prEN 17714:2023
oSIST prEN 17714:2023
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 17714
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
April 2023
ICS 65.080 Will supersede CEN/TS 17714:2022
English Version
Plant biostimulants - Determination of microorganisms'
concentration
Biostimulants des végétaux - Détermination de la Pflanzen-Biostimulanzien - Bestimmung der
concentration en microorganismes Konzentration von Mikroorganismen
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 455.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 17714:2023 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Principe of the method . 7
5 Sampling . 7
6 Preparation of sample for microbial analysis . 7
7 Method for enumeration of microorganism . 7
7.1 General. 7
7.2 Enumeration using a solid media. 8
7.3 Enumeration and quantification using a liquid medium . 16
8 Expression of results . 18
9 Test report . 19
10 Quality assurance . 19
Annex ZA (informative) Relationship of this European Standard and the essential requirements
of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 making available on the market of EU fertilising products
aimed to be covered . 20
Bibliography . 21

oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 17714:2023) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 455 “Plant
Biostimulants”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede CEN/TS 17714:2022.
This document has been prepared under a Standardization Request given to CEN by the European
Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU
Directive(s) / Regulation(s).
For relationship with EU Directive(s) / Regulation(s), see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part
of this document.
oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
Introduction
This document was prepared by the experts of CEN/TC 455 ‘Plant Biostimulants’. The European
Committee for Standardization (CEN) was requested by the European Commission (EC) to draft
European standards or European standardization deliverables to support the implementation of
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of 5 June 2019 laying down rules on the making available on the market of
EU fertilizing products (“FPR” or “Fertilising Products Regulation”). This Standardization Request,
presented as SR M/564 and M564/Amd1, also contributes to the Communication on “Innovating for
Sustainable Growth: A Bio economy for Europe”. The Working Group 5 “Labelling and denominations”,
was created to develop a work program as part of this Request. The technical committee CEN/TC 455
“Plant Biostimulants” was established to carry out the work program that will prepare a series of
standards. The interest in biostimulants has increased significantly in Europe as a valuable tool to use in
agriculture. Standardization was identified as having an important role in order to promote the use of
biostimulants. The work of CEN/TC 455 seeks to improve the reliability of the supply chain, thereby
improving the confidence of farmers, industry, and consumers in biostimulants, and will promote and
support commercialisation of the European biostimulant industry.
Biostimulants used in agriculture can be applied in multiple ways: on soil, on plant, as seed treatment,
etc. A microbial plant biostimulant consists of a microorganism or a consortium of microorganisms, as
referred to in Component Material Category 7 of Annex II of the EU Fertilising Products Regulation.
This document is applicable to all biostimulants in agriculture.
The Table 1 below summarizes many of the agro-ecological principles and the role played by
biostimulants.
Table 1 — Agro-ecological principles and the role played by biostimulants
Increase biodiversity
By improving soil microorganism quality/quantity
Reinforce biological regulation and interactions
By reinforcing plant-microorganism interactions
- symbiotic exchanges i.e. mycorrhize
- symbiotic exchanges i.e. rhizobiaciae/fava
- secretions mimicking plant hormones (i.e. trichoderma)
By regulating plant physiological processes
- e.g. growth, metabolism, plant development…
Improve biogeochemical cycles
- improve absorption of nutritional elements
- improve bioavailability of nutritional elements in the soil
- stimulate degradation of organic matter

This document defines the general rules to determine the microorganism concentration in a sample of
Plant Biostimulants.
oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
The specific concentrations of microorganisms required in specific standard methods take precedence
over the general rules listed in this document.

WARNING — Person using this document should be familiar with normal laboratory practice. This
document does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user to establish appropriate safety and health practices and to ensure compliance
with any national regulatory conditions.
IMPORTANT — It is absolutely essential that tests conducted in accordance with this document be
carried out by suitably trained staff.

oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
1 Scope
This document specifies general rules to determine the concentration of microorganisms present in plant
biostimulants.
The method is applicable to microbial plant biostimulants for verifying that the concentration of
microorganisms does not exceed the respective limits outlined in the EU Regulation on Fertilising
Products [1].
This horizontal method might not be appropriate in every detail for certain products. In this case, it is
necessary to refer to the methodology of specific determination and quantification of the
microorganisms.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
prEN 17708:— , Plant biostimulants — Preparation of sample for microbial analysis
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
Plant Biostimulant Products
product stimulating plant nutrition processes independently of the product's nutrient content with the
sole aim of improving the nutrient use efficiency, the tolerance to abiotic stress, the quality traits of the
plant or the plant rhizosphere or the availability of confined nutrient in soil or rhizosphere
3.2
microorganism
any microbiological entity, including lower fungi, bacteria and viruses, cellular or non-cellular, capable of
replication or of transferring genetic material, including dead or empty-cell, micro-organisms and non-
harmful elements of the media on which they were produced
[SOURCE: EN 17724:— , 3.2.2 [3]]
3.3
colony
localized visible accumulation of microbial mass (such as prokaryotes, bacteria, micromycetes, yeast and
fungi) or organisms (such as Dreissena species) developed on or in a solid nutrient medium from a viable
particle or organism
Under preparation.
oSIST prEN 17714:2023
prEN 17714:2023 (E)
Note 1 to entry: Frequently, micro colonies from nearby viable particles, before becoming visible, fuse into one
macro colony. The number of visible colonies is, therefore, usually and underestimate of the number of viable
particles.
[SOURCE: ISO 6107-6:2021, 3.119 [4]]
3.4
product
portion of an identified plant biostimulant product received in the laboratory for testing
3.5
laboratory sample
in relation to chemical and physical testing, a final sample intended for laboratory testing and in relation
to microbiological testing, each separate segment sample intended for laboratory testing
3.6
initial suspension
suspension (or solution) of the sample (3.5) in a defined volume of an appropriate diluent
4 Principe of the method
The method of determining the concentration of microorganisms has been developed to provide a
general method for the enumeration of the microorganisms present in the plant biostimulant product.
The results are expressed as the number of active units by volume or weight, or in any other way relevant
to the microorganism, for example colony forming units per gram or the UPM (unit of counting for
mycorrhiza where U is unit, spore or propagule of an P is potential, since the competition with other soil
born microorganisms and M is mycorrhizal). for Mycorrhizae.
5 Sampling
Sampling is not part of the method specified in this document (see prEN 17702-1:—). If there is no
specific International or European Standard, it is recommended that the parties concerned come to an
agreement on this subject.
It is important that the laboratory receives a sample which is representative and has not been damaged
or changed during transport or storage.
6 Preparation of sample for microbial analysis
Prepare the test sample from the laboratory sample in accordance with prEN 17708:—1. If there is no
specific International or European Standard, it is recommended that the parties concerned come to an
agreement on this subject.
7 Method for enumeration of microorganism
7.1 General
When assessing the microbiological quality of plant biostimulants, it is often not enough to know only
which microorganisms are present. In most cases, the quantitative aspect is equally important, which
brings about the need to enumerate microorganisms. This may be achieved in various ways: through
direct examination (microscopy), by in
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