Certis Belchim and Certis Biologicals win Gold in the Bernard Blum Award 2024 with its novel seed treatment Bio-fungicide, Toltek^®

Toltek^® received the Gold Bernard Blum Award 2024 for the most innovative biocontrol product at the Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) 2024 in Basel in October. The award, presented annually by IBMA, is judged on the criteria: scientific foundation and merit; the degree of innovation; contribution to sustainable agriculture; and commercial opportunity.

Toltek is the first biological fungicide for Take-All disease in cereals (wheat and barley) to be registered in Europe. The active ingredient is Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747, a unique bio-fungicide strain that provides effective protection against Take-All disease in cereals (Gaeumannomyces tritici) when used as a seed treatment. It performs consistently in the field: testing on a large collection of candidate Take-All strains using an innovative screening process, showed Toltek to be effective against 95% of them. The product is fully compatible with industry seed treatment facilities. 

This innovative biocontrol product results from a collaboration project between Certis Biologicals and Certis Belchim. Kumiai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. isolated the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747 in 2000 and licensed the strain to Certis Biologicals, who developed the fermentation production process and the formulation. Working closely with Certis Belchim, who have been responsible for product field development over the past five years, Certis Biologicals registered the product in Europe. Registration was granted in France in 2024 and is expected in United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and Czech Republic in 2025. The product will be distributed by Certis Belchim in Europe.

Take-All pressure has been increasing and half the cereal area of Europe is now affected. The disease causes necrosis of the plant roots, reducing their development and nutrient uptake and resulting in up to a 50% drop in yield. Crop rotation is important as the disease risk increases in short rotation situations, where, for example, wheat is grown after wheat. 

Certis Belchim has been working on its unique Take-All prediction model, quantifying factors conducive to the development of Take-All (rotation, soil, humidity, weather etc.) and creating a mapping system from a database of over 1500 field trials. From this, the company has created a decision-making tool to support distributors and farmers in identifying and quantifying Take-All risk field by field and advising appropriate product usage. Toltek should be recommended where the Take-All risk is low to medium and Latitude, currently the only alternative solution, where disease pressure is likely to be higher.

The team of over 50 people involved in the development of Toltek is delighted to see the results of their efforts rewarded with the Gold Award from Bernard Blum 2024. The innovative new seed treatment product will provide European cereal growers with a valuable solution for the protection of their cereal crops from a critical disease in a sustainable way.

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