AgroPages-Lavie Bio announces positive second year field results in its bio-stimulant program for wheat-Agricultural news

Lavie Bio (Lavie), a fully owned subsidiary of Evogene (NASDAQ:EVGN) aiming to improve food quality, sustainability and agriculture productivity through the introduction of microbiome based ag-biological products, announces achieving yield improvement following second year field trials in its bio-stimulant program for wheat. The positive results were achieved across multiple locations, wheat varieties and conditions, indicating consistent yield improvement through the application of Lavie’s spring wheat bio-stimulant product candidates - LAV211, LAV212 and LAV213.

Wheat is one of the world’s most important crops accounting for a significant portion in the world’s diet. The global wheat flour market was valued at $200 billion in 2015 and is estimated to reach $270 billion by 2022^[1]. Approximately 25 million acres of spring wheat is planted in North America, mostly concentrated in North Dakota and Western Canada^[2].

The field trials of LAV211, LAV212 and LAV213 product candidates demonstrate consistent improvement of wheat yield per acre, across multiple locations, varieties and conditions spanning over two consecutive years with a ‘win rate’ in over 80% of the locations, with up to 20% yield benefit in top performing locations and an average improvement of 6-7% (p-value <0.05). These results indicate that Lavie wheat bio-stimulant products could potentially gain the farmer an additional $20-$50 profit per acre.

In parallel, Lavie has also focused on formulation technology and fermentation protocols that have significantly improved product shelf life as well as the establishment of the treatment in the crop’s roots. Formulation and fermentation are known to be a critical challenge in the product development phase in order to reach commercialization. LAV211, LAV212 and LAV213 are being developed as a seed treatment with additional application methodologies to follow.

Additional activities in 2019 are expected to include broader validation trials in target growth locations, mainly in the US, to be followed by additional field trials in Canada next year. As previously disclosed, the company is targeting commercial introduction of a first product for wheat bio-stimulants in 3 years.

Ido Dor, CEO Lavie Bio stated: “Lavie’s bio-stimulant product family for spring wheat aims to supply consumers with healthier wheat while providing farmers more sustainable and productive agriculture practices. I am pleased with our second-year field results, another indication to the strength of Lavie’s product development capabilities, that bringing us a step closer to product commercialization.”

[1] https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/flour-market

[2] https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/86210/whs-17l.pdf?v=43083, pg. 18; Phillips McDougall, 2017, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3210035901