Top biologicals news in September 2021

Below are the most-viewed 10 reports regarding biostimulant/biopesticide products, distribution partnership, markets and viewpoints that were published on AgroPages in September 2021.

Sugarcane biocontrol market in Brazil: The story of planting is changing

Brazil is by far the biggest sugarcane producer in the world. However, this status does not come easy. Sugarcane yields have been rigorously abridged by enormous number of insect pests and diseases. For a long period, chemical products were the most widespread control measure among Brazilian growers. This situation has been gradually changing with higher adoption of sustainable methods of control such as biocontrol.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) sugarcane is cultivated in around 10 million hectares in Brazil. It is cultivated extensively and in continuous areas in several regions. The crop cycle is also long, varying usually between 10 and 18 months. Due to these factors this agroecosystem becomes convenient to the attack of different pests and diseases. Some of them stand out because of the frequency in which they occur and also for the damages they cause. More>>

Ingevity: Biologicals — The future of sustainable agriculture

Over the last decade, biological products have become one of the fastest growing segments in the agriculture industry due to increased stringent regulations and farmers’ needs for sustainable pest-resistant products in order to expand the yield of quality crops around the world. The current global market for biological agrochemicals is over $7 billion and is growing 13-15% per year. To better grasp this agriculture segment’s exponential growth, it’s important to understand what biological products are and how they can provide value to agricultural production.

Although biological crop protection products can take many forms, from live beneficial insects to metabolites produced by bacteria and fungi, they are commonly divided into three categories: biofertilizers, biostimulants and biological control products. More>>

SUMI AGRO France enters exclusive distribution agreement with FYTEKO for NURSPRAY^® biostimulant

Agricultural biotech company FYTEKO has announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Sumi Agro France SAS to sell its novel NURSPRAY^® crop biostimulant product in France.

Containing hydroxycinnamic acids, a group of biomolecules found within the cell walls of plants, NURSPRAY^® promises farmers and growers greater resilience against stress caused by external environmental factors. Such abiotic stresses – drought or extremes of temperature – will become more common as climate change intensifies, posing a significant threat to agricultural productivity worldwide. More>>

Miller Chemical & Fertilizer: A Legacy of Service and Exceptional Crop Production

It takes more than time to build a legacy. Since 1937, Miller Chemical & Fertilizer, LLC has been committed to delivering more than the products agricultural producers around the globe have come to trust. With an industry-leading dedication to service, Miller’s highly trained agronomists and crop advisors have been providing innovative solutions to customers for more than 80 years. 

From humble beginnings in Baltimore, Maryland, in the late 1930s, Miller operated out of two factories: one formulating pesticides and another manufacturing farm fertilizers. In 1968, the company moved to its present-day headquarters in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with the following decades aptly characterized as “onward and upward,” a strategy Miller continues to deliver, in every aspect of their business portfolio. More>>

C. Fernandez, Futureco Bioscience R&D Director, candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the IBMA

Carolina Fernández, who has been the R&D director of Futureco Bioscience for more than 20 years, is running as a candidate for the vice-presidency of the IBMA (International Association of Biocontrol Manufacturers). Voting is available online and on-site, until October 18th, day of the general assembly in Basel, Switzerland, where the winner will be announced. Besides, Fernandez and others Futureco Bioscience delegates, will be present on 19-20th October at ABIM 2021 (stand number 20). More>>

The biotech company Symborg leaps to the gardening sector with its new sustainable TROOP Garden line

Symborg, a leading company in agricultural biotechnology, revolutionizes the gardening sector with the launch of TROOP Garden, a new range of innovative products based on microorganisms. Thanks to its cutting-edge technology, TROOP Garden's solutions improve the growth and well-being of plants. "With TROOP Garden, we offer home gardeners a wide range of effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly products," explains Francisco Javier García Domínguez, Chief Marketing Officer at Symborg. 

With this step, Symborg is bringing the success achieved with its agricultural products to gardening and landscaping. The company's objective is to advance in its commitment to sustainability, maximizing plant care with the minimum of resources and without risks to human, animal and environmental health. "Society is immersed in a transformation towards more sustainable practices, which can become a real challenge for the consumer. TROOP Garden is our way of addressing that need and responding to an undoubtedly growing demand. We are leading a shift towards more sustainable and efficient practices", says García Domínguez. More>>

Croda officially opens its Crop Care Product Validation Centre

Croda International Plc, the company that uses smart science to create high performance ingredients and technologies that improve lives, has officially opened its Product Validation Centre on September 21. Located in Holambra near Sao Paolo, Brazil, this state-of-the-art centre is dedicated to serving the agrochemical market.

The new Product Validation Centre will enable Croda to prepare plant growth mediums according to climate characteristics of each region, and mimic test conditions accordingly. Research and development teams at the centre will then be able to perform applications during the desired growth period. The state-of-the-art facility also houses a spray chamber, providing customised product application according to specific requirements, enabling the company to tailor each trial to customer, crop or regional requirements and providing more detailed efficacy analysis. More>>

How Alginate Oligosaccharide benefits to crops growth

Alginate oligosaccharide is a naturally derived oligosaccharide from alginate and features low molecular weight, good water solubility and stability, as well as non-toxicity. 

It is good for promoting plant growth, enhancing plant resistance and inhibiting plant pathogenic bacteria. Comparing with chitosan oligosaccharide, the alginate oligosaccharide has more potentiality for use in agriculture and its benefits for plants are more obvious through experiments conducted by laboratories in universities and institutes. But it was not too recognized earlier because alginate oligosaccharide was not produced industrially. These years, more and more studies have approved the importance of alginate oligosaccharide for plants, alginate oligosaccharide started to come to insights of agrochemicals and fertilizers companies. And more and more biostimulant products or fertilizer products marked ‘alginate oligosaccharide’ have appeared in the agriculture market. More>>

Agtechs in the search for Biosolutions for Brazilian Agriculture (By Renato Seraphim)

Since October last year in my time outside of large organizations, I have been dedicated to studying startups and seeking information and knowledge about them, and I have dedicated special attention to Agtechs.

In one of my articles last year I had cited 13 in which I believed, for having a disruptive technology, Prepared people and well-organized processes and I am happy to know that almost all of them: Agristamp, Atomic Agro, Bart Digital, Digifarmz, Solubio , Flex Interativa, GoFlux, Grão Direto, InovaFarm, Safetrace, Seedz, Terra Magna and Traive were highlighted this year through their own growth or capital inflow, including with the help of this article. More>>

Executive Director of Biologicals at CropLife Brasil organizes panel discussion on bio-inputs

Amália Borsari, Executive Director of Biologicals at CropLife Brasil, organized a panel to discuss the use of bio-inputs in Brazil and concluded that biologicals are being increasingly valued and have considerable growth potential.

“There is increasing demand for bio-inputs in Brazil from farmers, businessmen, investors, consumers and public managers. The demand is for plant defense technologies that are both effective and sustainable, but also produce food free of residues, using renewable inputs,” she said. More>>