MustGrow announces key milestone: finalization of ‘liquid formulation’ mustard-derived bio-pesticide

 

MustGrow Biologics Corp. (CSE: MGRO) (OTC: MGROF) (the "Company", "MustGrow"), an agricultural biotech company developing and commercializing a portfolio of natural, science-based bio-pesticides and bio-fertility products, announces the finalization of its advanced liquid formulation ("Liquid Formulation"). The Liquid Formulation is an advancement of MustGrow’s signature mustard-derived ‘granule format’ bio-pesticide product. Unlike the granule format, the advanced Liquid Formulation may be applied through standard drip or spray equipment, improving functionality and performance features such as:

 

- Higher concentration of the active ingredient requires less product per acre;

- More efficacious results per volume;

- Convenient drip-line or spray application; and

- Lower transportation costs and ease-of-use due to less weight, less volume, less bulkiness.

 

The finalization of the Liquid Formulation is a particularly exciting milestone for fruits & vegetables growers seeking a ‘natural biological’ alternative to ‘chemistry-based’ products, some of which are dangerous to human health.

 

MustGrow’s Liquid Formulation work program was completed by Canada’s prominent federal research & development organization, National Research Council Canada. The NRC evaluated control of hard-to-kill soil-borne diseases and application use-rates – particularly diseases that have been problematic for many of Canada’s licensed cannabis producers, including but not limited to:

 

- Botrytis (Gray Mold, Bud Rot), a serious and common disease often brought into facilities via contaminated soil; and

- Fusarium & Rhizoctonia (Root Rot), known to destroy entire cannabis rooms and can lay dormant in both soil and waterlines for years before it becomes active and detrimental.

 

 

Using MustGrow’s Liquid Formulation, NRC achieved 100% control of hard-to-kill soil borne diseases such as Botrytis and Fusarium. To determine economic viability of the Liquid Formulation, NRC also tested the lowest effective application use-rates: >95% control was achieved at rates as low as 2.5 gal/acre, believed by the Company to be an economically-feasible application rate in fruits, vegetables, turf, ornamental, cannabis and hemp farming operations.

 

MustGrow is undertaking further testing to assess efficacy on additional pests as well as other broad market applications in the food value chain, including storage container fumigation.

 

MustGrow’s Liquid Formulation is derived from mustard seed, utilizing the plant’s natural defense mechanism as a pre-plant soil bio-pesticide. Organic compounds found in mustard seed, combined with water, form allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), which is the active ingredient. MustGrow has concentrated the active ingredient in both granular and now liquid format to maximize safety and efficacy. MustGrow’s granular product is EPA-approved across all key U.S. states as a bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticide (currently limited to a fertilizer in California) and is designated by Health Canada’s PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) as a fruit, vegetable, turf and ornamental bio-pesticide and bio-fertilizer.

 

 

MustGrow’s signature mustard-derived products have consistently demonstrated efficacious benefits similar to chemistry-based "chemical" products without the harmful safety profile often associated with these chemical products. "Biological" products are traditionally less efficacious than chemical products. Biologicals typically only have suppression labels which is less than 75% control, requiring frequent re-entry and re-application intervals. However, previous MustGrow product testing in soil used for fruits & vegetables have indicated greater than 95% control (more than just suppression) of soil-borne pests and diseases – in some cases 100% control of Root Knot Nematodes compared to dangerous chemistry-based products such as Methyl Bromide.