Top biologicals news in November & December 2020

Below are the most-viewed news regarding biostimulant/biopesticide products, companies, regulations and research that were released on AgroPages in November and December 2020.

Can SmartWater be a weapon of farmers against the drought?

Global Agro, the biologicals provider & bio-technology company in Korea has suggested a solution to deal with drought with an ecofriendly soil water keeper called SmartWater. This bio-degradable granule consisting perlite and plant-derived cellulose can do more things than we expect. SmartWater persists for 6 months to keep water and nutrition in soil and is naturally degraded after 1 year without any concern of soil contamination. Sprayed into soils, it kick-starts process to form water-nets inside soils and this unique mode of action removes some negative effects such as root exposures above soils, which happens often from the use of water absorbing and swelling materials.

Replacing Mancozeb with tea tree oil-based Timorex Gold for the successful control of black Sigatoka and the reduction of chemical load in banana plantations

Tea tree oil-based Timorex Gold is in wide use for the control of black Sigatoka in the main banana plantations in South and Central America and the Philippines. Its use either as a solo product or in combination with systemics effectively controlls black Sigatoka and is as effective or superior to Mancozeb. Tea tree oil has a unique multiple functional activity and presents different modes of action. It inhibites spore germination and exhibited high activity on mycelial development and sporulation. This article presents how the product can be a successful replacement for Mancozeb in controlling black Sigatoka.

Covance releases report on regulatory revolution in biopesticides

The growth of global biopesticide market is much higher than conventional (synthesized) pesticides nowadays. The slowdown in the conventional pesticide market may result from the tightening of regulation across the world. The growth in the biopesticide market is picking up as consumers and regulators want to find products that are less toxic than conventional chemicals, and that support a more sustainable approach to food production.  Despite this, biopesticides are usually regulated in exactly the same way as conventional pesticides and this creates an unnecessarily high barrier to approval and a huge burden on the small- and medium-sized enterprises, which are the current main innovators in biopesticides.

SOPEF, the investment fund managed by MCH enters into Symborg, a leading company specialised in biotechnology applied to agriculture

Symborg is a leading company in the biotechnology applied to agriculture sector with presence in more than 50 countries. Symborg has established itself as a world reference in the development of biostimulants based on microorganisms whereby the applications to agricultural uses are patent protected. The Company has evolved from its first products based on mycorrhizal fungi to the development of biofertilizers such as BlueN, which allows the plant to naturally nourish itself with nitrogen, reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers. Thanks to SOPEF’s entry, Symborg strengthens its shareholding structure and obtains financial support as part of its strategic growth and expansion plan.

VI-VACCINE, a microbial extract-based product, strengthens Integrated Virus Management

Vi-vaccine is a microbial extract-based product to prevent or suppress virus disease infection. The microbial extract of Vi-vaccine degrades the coat protein of virus and leads to inactivation of infection capability. Because it is non-systemic, only preventive effect is valid. To get the expected efficacy, tank-mixing spray with insecticides to control vectors are recommended. Plants can’t be cured once infected by virus. Therefore virus control must aim at preventing or delaying infection. Under this basic concept, Vi-vaccine should be inserted at target points.

Record-breaking 76 low impact pesticides registered in Brazil in 2020

The Brazilian Federal Official Gazette published on Friday November 27 that 42 formulated pesticides were registered under the Act No. 65 of the Department of Plant Protection and Agricultural Defense Secretariat Agricultural Inputs. Of this total, 13 are biological control pesticides, 6 of which are authorized for use in organic agriculture. Until today, 76 low impact pesticides have been registered In 2020. This is, to date, the largest number of product registrations in the same year.

Combining biostimulants with micronutrients could change the plants’ response to stress

Combining unique biostimulants with micronutrients could be the answer to crop losses caused by drought, according to new trial results. The study, by researchers at Nottingham Trent University in collaboration with Micromix, looked at the effect of a hybrid biostimulant with nutrients on drought and heat tolerance in a range of crops. It found that the product changed the plants’ response to stress, increasing drought tolerance by 25-35% and boosting yields by up to 30%. Professor of sustainable agriculture at the University, Chungui Lu, said: “This is really game-changing – it could offer a big contribution to global food security. In the UK alone, we could save millions of Pounds in lost crops.”

Plant Health Care enters collaboration with US ag giant Wilbur-Ellis

Biological products company Plant Health Care has entered a “strategic collaboration” with agriculture, crop protection, seed, nutrition and biological products provider Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness, for the development of products selected from Plant’s ‘PREtec’ peptide portfolio. The AIM-traded firm said PHC279 and other peptides, which it had been developing, offered “substantial benefits” to growers in the United States. Wilbur-Ellis, one of the largest agricultural retailers in the US, would work with Plant Health Care to develop and launch products using PREtec peptides in the specialty crop market.