<![CDATA[Abstract. Arfarita N, Qur’ania A, Nakamura S, Imai T. 2026. Development of VP3-biofertilizer pellets from seaweed waste and its implications for bacterial-fungal viability and solanaceous seedling performance. Asian J Agric 10 (2): g100222. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjagric/g100222. The development of stable and effective biofertilizer formulations remains a major challenge in sustainable agriculture, particularly in maintaining microbial viability during storage while ensuring agronomic benefits after application. This study developed a pelletized biofertilizer based on seaweed waste and evaluated its ability to preserve beneficial microorganisms and promote the early growth of solanaceous crops. The formulation combined the VP3 bacterial consortium, consisting of nitrogen-fixing Bacillus licheniformis, phosphate-solubilizing Pantoea ananatis, and exopolysaccharide-producing Pseudomonas plecoglossicida, with the beneficial fungus Trichoderma viride FRP3. Different drying temperatures (40°C and 50°C) and packaging methods were investigated to determine their effects on the viability of the microbial agents contained in the pellets. Pellets dried at 40°C maintained higher bacterial viability than those dried at 50°C. After 30 days of storage, pellets dried at 40°C with non-vacuum packaging showed a bacterial viability of 3.8 × 10⁹ CFU/g (V3T1), compared with 1.8 × 10⁹ CFU/g under vacuum packaging (V4T1). After 30 days of storage, fungal viability reached 1.5 × 10⁷ CFU/g in pellets dried at 40°C with non-vacuum packaging (V3T1), compared with 1.3 × 10⁷ CFU/g under vacuum packaging (V4T1). After 30 days of storage, pellets dried at 40°C maintained the highest bacterial viability (6.9 × 10⁹ CFU/g). The packaging method did not significantly affect microbial viability, although non-vacuum packaging showed a tendency toward higher bacterial and fungal counts than vacuum packaging. In addition, the biofertilizer was applied to chili pepper, eggplant, and tomato seedlings to assess its influence on seedling performance. Application of the seaweed waste-based VP3 pellets significantly enhanced seedling height, fresh biomass, and root development in most tested crops compared with the control, although no significant effect was observed on tomato root length. These findings demonstrate the potential of seaweed waste-based biofertilizer pellets to maintain microbial viability during short-term storage and promote early seedling growth under nursery conditions.]]>
