(As originally published on Dec. 18, 2012 in Corn & Soybean Digest)
Biologically based crop inputs are moving from the orchards and cabbage patch to corn and soybean fields. A combination of higher value commodity crops, synergies between biologicals and synthetic chemical controls, new research tools and major corporate investments are driving the trend.
Originally published in Potato Grower magazine
Before a single plant even emerges, soilborne diseases can negatively impact potato yield and quality. Rhizoctonia solani is particularly troublesome. Once established in a field, R. solani is a persistent source of inoculum from year to year, surviving cold temperatures in the soil, clinging to debris and reproducing on weeds in fallow fields. When the soil begins to warm, fungal mycelium begin attacking the developing tuber. This pathogenic activity has a detrimental effect on tubers before emergence that often extends well into plant development through harvest. The problem can escalate, particularly in the early stages of the disease if developing stolons and tubers are infected through infected seed pieces.
Originally published in CAPCA Adviser
California Approves Regalia Fungicide for Soilborne Disease Control for Fruits and Vegetables
California’s rich soils, lengthy growing season, diversity of microclimates and sheer amount of land under production contribute to its agricultural dominance. But just as California’s growing conditions are ideal for fruit and vegetable production, they often provide favorable conditions for diseases that reduce plant vigor and carbohydrate production.
Regalia® Biofungicide
Successful management of diseases has always been a critical part of California fruit and vegetable production. Use of Regalia is rapidly expanding in specialty crop markets;
and because of its multisite activity and complex mode of action, Regalia is often considered as a key component in many fungicide resistance management protocols.
Regalia contains a unique active ingredient that switches on plants’ natural defense mechanisms, causing them to produce and accumulate higher levels of natural proteins and other compounds that inhibit disease development. A minimal REI and a zero-day PHI provide growers with greater operational flexibility and a residue-free harvest.
Originally Published by Citrus + Vegetable
Fruit and vegetable growers understand that plant diseases represent major challenges to their bo ttom line. From the moment a plant takes root, it’s under possible attack from soilborne pathogens such as Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora. Soilborne diseases are particularly devastating early in the growing season, when high-value crops such as tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and potatoes are most vulnerable to bacterial and fungal pathogens. Plants a ffected by disease early in their development struggle throughout the growing season. Yields o ften suffer. Quality is compromised.
Originally published in the Grove & Vegetable insert of Farm Press
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE growers understand that plant diseases represent major challenges to their bottom line. From the moment a plant takes root, it’s under possible attack from soilborne pathogens such as Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora.
Soilborne diseases are particularly devastating early in the growing season, when high-value crops such as tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and potatoes are most vulnerable to bacterial and fungal pathogens. Plants affected by disease early in their development struggle throughout the growing season. Yields often suffer. Quality is compromised.
A watershed deal, resistance management advantages and efforts to speed along registrations around the world…Do biologicals have your attention yet?
Written by Jaclyn Sindrich in Farm Chemicals International
Malcolm Gladwell wrote a celebrated bestselling book in 2000 called The Tipping Point, about how small changes can converge to spread ideas and concepts at extraordinary speed. Had the book been written a decade later, the story of biopesticides would not have seemed out of place.
To biopesticides trailblazers and entrepreneurs like Pam Marrone, founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, changes in the sector are happening fast – faster than she imagined.
On July 3, Big 6 crop protection maker Bayer CropScience announced it would buy Davis, California-based AgraQuest for $425 million plus milestone payments, making it the biggest biopesticides pact to date.
“I expected there would be some acquisitions by the big companies, but probably in one to two years,” says Marrone, who founded AgraQuest in 1995 and left 11 years later to start MBI. Hearing the news of the merger was bittersweet – she did not gain financially from it – but she passionately expressed her optimism about the future of the role of biopesticides in agriculture. “I think investors are going to get a handsome return from the AgraQuest deal, and that is certainly going to drive a lot more investment in the sector and a lot of innovative companies starting up.”
DAVIS, CALIF, August 16, 2012 – Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI), a leading global provider of natural pest management products for the agricultural and water treatment markets, announced today the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) has approved a significant label expansion for Regalia®, the company’s biofungicide that triggers a plant’s natural defenses to fight fungal and bacterial diseases.
Regalia’s newCalifornia label includes approval of expanded soil applications—including in-furrow sprays, pre-plant dips, shanked-in applications and soil drenches. The chemigation section was also expanded to include drip irrigation instructions for controlling soilborne pathogens and improving overall plant health, growth, and yield.