Alltech Crop Science acquires Ideagro, leader in agri-food research and development

Strengthening its commitment to Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, Alltech Crop Science has acquired Ideagro, based in Murcia, Spain. This partnership joins two leading platforms to accelerate soil and crop research, and to enhance biological and other microorganism-based offerings to Alltech Crop Science customers throughout the world.

Alltech Crop Science has acquired Ideagro, based in Murcia, Spain. Left to right: Mike Castle, Chief Operating Officer, Alltech; Pedro Palazón, CEO, Ideagro; Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO, Alltech; Andy Thomas, CEO, Alltech Crop Science; Christopher Speight, Chief Financial Officer, Alltech.

″We are excited to announce that Ideagro has joined the Alltech Crop Science global team, providing us with a partner who shares our vision and significantly scaling our research capabilities,″ said Andy Thomas, CEO of Alltech Crop Science. "This is the strengthening of a longstanding partnership. We have worked closely with the Ideagro team since their founding 11 years ago.″

Ideagro is a leader in agri-food research and development with a team of more than 20 scientists. It is committed to improving the productivity and profitability of agricultural systems. Its expertise in developing beneficial organisms for soil aids the growth of crops, reduces the impact of chemical inputs and helps plants to resist biotic and abiotic stress. Ideagro’s analytical capabilities, with special emphasis on in-vitro research, phytopathology, soil dynamics and microorganisms, further enable growers to identify microorganisms and quantify enzymatic activity in the soil.

″We are facing a great growth opportunity for Ideagro because we are going to have better means and more technological capacity to develop our research, which will now have a global projection,″ said Pedro Palazón, CEO of Ideagro. ″We will no longer only study the soils of the Iberian Peninsula, but we will work with soils from all over the world to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.″

Ideagro has state-of-the-art laboratories and experimental research stations and fields for carrying out trials in Spain. To date, the company has researched more than 90 different crops and performed more than 10,000 physicochemical and biological analyses. This has led to the development of new agricultural strategies based on microorganisms.

Ideagro’s three laboratories are fully equipped with the latest technologies to focus on nutraceuticals, phytopathology, research and development and molecular biology. Its services include:

• Precise diagnoses, identification and semi-quantification of more than 290 microorganisms at the species level in different crops. Through the development of multispecific detection kits, it can simultaneously detect up to 40 pathogenic microorganisms in a single sample, with results in 24-48 hours.

• Molecular identification of microorganisms as well as genetic characterization of specific strains and determination of pathotypes of a pathogen.

• Analysis of nematodes.

• Design of specific probes for specific microorganisms. As a result, Ideagro is able to detect specific microorganisms in soil, water, plant material and biostimulants.

• Mycotoxin analyses. With more than 15,000 analyses carried out to date, Ideagro can identify and quantify the risks of aflatoxin B1, fumonisins, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol trichothecenes and T2 toxin. It provides monthly data on mycotoxin contamination in animal feed and in the main crops of the Spanish and European markets.

Ideagro is accredited by MAPAMA (EOR 82/13) and has ISO 9001:2015 certification. In June 2021, it was named a Reference Regional Laboratory by GLOSOLAN, the Global Soil Laboratory division of the FAO.

″The combination of the Ideagro expertise with the reach and scale of Alltech will allow us to extend world-leading understanding of the interface between soil, crop, animal and human health to the global market,″ said Andy Thomas, CEO of Alltech Crop Science. ″The potential implications of these insights cannot be understated as we endeavor to improve the vitality of our global food system, from the ground up.″

The 4th Biopesticides, Biostimulants and Novel Fertilizers International Summit (BioEx 2023) will take place on 9th & 10th March in Hangzhou, China. We are pleased to invite speakers from the commercial, research, extension, government, regulatory and farming sectors to submit your proposals and abstracts for oral presentations.