AgroPages-From Chill to Kill – Pheronym treated nematodes aggressively disperse in lower temperatures-Agricultural news

Third Peer-Reviewed Study Shows Company’s Patented Bio-remediation Technology Works in Cooler Weather, Expanding the Range for Deploying Nematode-based biological control

Pheronym, an ag-biotech pest control company, announced today the results of their third peer-reviewed study demonstrating the efficacy of their patented Nematism™ pheromone extract for bio-remediation of agricultural pests. In a study to be published in Scientific Reports by Springer Nature, Dr. David Shapiro-Ilan with the USDA-ARS, Dr. Ed Lewis, with the University of Idaho, and Dr. Fatma Kaplan, with Pheronym reported that nematodes treated with Pheronym’s pheromones still aggressively dispersed in temperatures as low as 15 degrees Celsius, which was superior to untreated nematodes. Most entomopathogenic (insect-killing) nematode species require 20 degrees or above for optimum activity.

The research, led by Dr. Kaplan with Pheronym, Inc., studied pheromones’ role in the stimulation of dispersal at temperatures from 15 to 30 degrees Celsius and how this is affected by nematodes’ foraging strategy.

“Nematodes typically reduce their dispersal or remain motionless in cooler temperatures. Expanding the temperature range downward for deploying beneficial nematodes means farmers can enhance the use of environmentally-friendly pest management solutions and thereby reduce harmful chemical inputs,” said Dr. Fatma Kaplan, CEO of Pheronym. “In essence, Pheronym’s Nemastim takes the Nematodes from chill, to kill.”

“Expanding the temperature range for deployment of beneficial nematodes is a huge win for sustainable agriculture,” said Dr. David Shapiro, USDA-ARS. “It’s just one more reason for more aggressive commercial deployment of effective solutions like nematode pheromones.”

The new study can be found here www.nature.com/articles.

Pheronnym’s previous two peer-reviewed studies on efficacy and infectivity can be found here, Pheromone extracts act as boosters for entomopathogenic nematodes efficacy and here, Conspecific pheromone extracts enhance entomopathogenic infectivity.