AgriTech member
MycoNourish
Dr Peter Orrell, founder of MycoNourish Limited, chats to us about his business.
Tell us about your business.
Maximising crop quality is key. At MycoNourish, we harness the power of beneficial microbes to enhance crop production, and add value for growers.
Our mission is to make sustainable improvements in agriculture, by taking the interactions that occur between plants and microbes in nature, and customising them for use in agriculture.
We do this with beneficial fungi, known as ‘mycorrhizae’, which work in symbiosis with crops to enhance yields.
Unlike other products, which provide ‘one size fits all’ solutions, our exciting innovation allows us to customise new advanced strains of these fungi to pair with specific crops, and tailor them to solve the most important problem in each one.
Our fungi are highly adaptable, and whilst we initially focus on improving quality in high-value crop production, we can tackle a wide range of issues, from improving water uptake in semi-arid regions to enhancing pollination and altering flowering phenology.
Our customised fungi add value for growers, as well as providing environmental benefits, and tackling the important issues of food wastage & food security.
When did you start your business?
September 2018.
What's been your biggest highlight?
We've had a great journey, and we have really found the support of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Scotland second to none. Recently, we've had some fantastic results from our product trials - they surpassed our targets, which is great, and makes us even more excited about the next stages!
What's been your biggest challenge?
Every day is a new lesson! People always say that your plans will take longer and cost more than you expect, and it's true! Covid-19 has been particularly challenging over the past year, pushing back timelines and changing the way we work. However we took time to put robust plans in place to mitigate the impacts, and we've even seen some silver linings such as improved efficiency with new working patterns. Challenges are opportunities, and if you take a step back they can turn into a really positive development.
Advice for entrepreneurs starting out
My biggest piece of advice would be to play to your strengths, and tap into the experience of others to fill gaps. Don't try and do everything yourself; the entrepreneurial community is incredibly supportive with many people willing to give you their time, build a great team from day 1, and be open to partnerships and collaborations!