Summit Agro launches Taisei plant hormonal defense bioactivator in Argentina

Japanese company Summit Agro has revealed to AgroPages the launch of Taisei, a plant hormonal defense bioactivator.

According to the manufacturer, the new product is formulated with natural proteins extracted from a pathogenic fungus (Acremonium strictum), representing an "evolution" of its already-known market solution, Howler.

Summit Agro claims that Taisei is for foliar applications that can be combined with fungicides, insecticides, or fertilizers.

Bioactivation with Taisei may have additional effects on physiological processes such as photosynthesis, nutrient absorption and distribution, and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, resulting in improved crop yields.

Adrián Martínez Van Den Dooren, Marketing Manager at Summit Agro, explained that the proteins act as "messengers in case of potential entry of pathogens into the plant."

The plant is induced, activated, or prepared for pathogen entry by applying these proteins.

This triggers a hormonal cascade in the plant in response to the pathogen entry, with lower metabolic costs in photosynthesis and energy.

Martinez Van Den Dooren stated that Taisei has a concentration "10 times higher" than Howler, allowing for a reduction in the quantity of packaging.

"Furthermore, a noteworthy aspect for the producer is that the dose used in the field is also reduced by ten times. This facilitates product handling and logistics.

Instead of applying the current two liters per hectare with Howler, with Taisei, 200 cubic centimeters will be applied," the agronomist said.

According to him, another improvement of Taisei is the utilization window with applications in the early stages of wheat, barley, and soybean crops.

Similarly, the company is working to expand its use to corn, potatoes, and other crops to add to the product's new label.

Following the Be Green product line from Summit Agro, Taisei is a green band Bioinput suitable for organic production.

"This is because it is zero waste, with completely natural components, making it a biological product."

"The goal is for 15% of the company's turnover to correspond to biological products within five years," said Martinez Van Den Dooren.

"This is a response to the demand for environmentally sustainable products imposed by the market. In our portfolio, we have more than 20 future projects with this type of sustainability in the short term," he said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)