A recent study investigated whether microbial seed coatings may be able to enhance crop yields. The scientists plants seeds with 2,000 different microbial coatings in 500,000 test plots. The idea is that some bacteria can help provide nutrients (i.e. nitrogen) to plants while others may be important in warding off disease, parasites and pests. The microbial products also promise to replace or reduce the use of synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The existing market for biological products (i.e. natural pest controls, plant extracts and beneficial insects) in agriculture is $2.9B out of the total ag market of $240B. Analysts expect the biologicals market to grow substantially in the move toward more natural agriculture with fewer chemicals.