23 September 2026, North Dakota, USA: A biotechnology startup spun out of North Dakota State University has closed an oversubscribed $2.3 million seed round to commercialize a new nitrogen-fixing bacterial inoculant that beat a leading commercial product in multi-site field trials across the Northern Plains.
Lilac Agriculture, based in Fargo, North Dakota, was founded by NDSU assistant professor Dr. Barney Geddes, who serves as chief scientific officer, alongside chief executive Natalie DiNicola, NDSU biotechnology graduate Wyatt Warkenthien, and agtech veterans Matt Crisp and Tom Snipes. The round was led by investment firm Innova and was oversubscribed from an original $1.5 million target, with additional backing from 701 Fund, Ag Ventures Alliance, Evergreen Climate Innovations, the North Dakota Development Fund, Pathway Ventures and Tall Grass Ventures.
The company’s first commercial product, branded PL11, is a rhizobium strain formulated as a shelf-stable powder for treating pea and lentil seed at planting. A dry bean version, using different strain-specific formulations, is due to launch in fall 2026.
Rhizobium bacteria are the microorganisms that colonize the root nodules of legume crops such as peas, lentils, chickpeas and soybeans, converting atmospheric nitrogen gas into a form the plant can use, a process called biological nitrogen fixation. Commercial inoculants apply concentrated rhizobium strains to seed to boost this natural process. Most existing products, however, are selected mainly for how efficiently a strain fixes nitrogen in laboratory conditions. In the field, an efficient lab strain can still lose out to weaker native soil bacteria in the competition to actually occupy root nodules, a gap between lab promise and field performance that the industry has struggled to close consistently.
Screening for two traits at once
Lilac’s platform addresses that gap by screening candidate strains for nitrogen-fixing efficiency and nodule-occupancy competitiveness simultaneously, rather than one at a time. Researchers assess fixation ability under nitrogen-limited growing conditions, while competitiveness is measured using molecular markers that identify which strain, among several competing options, actually colonizes the roots and forms nodules. Candidate strains are then put through a laboratory process the company calls guided evolution, in which selection pressure is applied across many generations of rapidly reproducing bacteria to reinforce both traits together over time. Geddes has described this as working with the bacteria’s own natural genetic diversity rather than introducing foreign genetic material, positioning it as a conventional biological product rather than a genetically modified organism for regulatory purposes.
PL11 was screened from NDSU’s existing bacterial culture collection and selected specifically for Northern Plains growing conditions. According to NDSU field trials conducted across multiple sites and soil types, PL11-treated pea plots averaged 57.6 bushels per acre, compared with 54.3 bushels per acre for plots treated with a leading commercial inoculant, a gain of roughly 6 percent. Company-reported trial data also showed an aggregate yield increase of about 11 percent over untreated, no-inoculant checks across the tested sites. The product carries an 18-month shelf life when stored between 10 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, is compatible with common fungicide and seed-treatment tank mixes without special handling, and is applied with standard seed-treatment equipment. Growers are advised to plant treated seed within 48 to 72 hours for best nodulation results.
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