Biotalys’ ongoing trial program demonstrates strong potential of its new generation protein-based biocontrols
Biotalys, an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company focused on addressing food protection challenges to enable a more sustainable and safer food supply, announced the strong performance of its first protein-based biocontrol Evoca™* in its product testing program. Next to the confirmation of the product’s efficacy, the field and greenhouse trial results also provide indications of Evoca™’s best-in-class product formulation, combining conventional chemical-like performance and consistency with the safety profile of biological controls when used in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs.
Evoca™ aims to provide growers with a new rotation partner in IPM programs to help control diseases such as Botrytis and powdery mildew, thus reducing the dependency on chemical pesticides with corresponding residues in harvested produces, while offering a distinctive new tool to manage pathogen resistance development.
Under the field trial program, an additional 200 field and greenhouse trials were performed in 2020 for Evoca™ product development and positioning, comparing its performance to conventional chemical and biological crop protection products. The company’s global fruit and vegetables trial program has now reached over 300 trials across multiple regions, pathogens and crops.
Patrice Sellès, CEO of Biotalys, said: “Our comprehensive field trial program has demonstrated, under a broad range of environmental conditions, the potential value of our innovative first protein-based biofungicide product candidate Evoca™ to growers, retailers and consumers for high value fruit and vegetable crops such as strawberries and wine grapes. The results provide further evidence to show that our AGROBODY Foundry™ platform is capable of providing a novel approach to deliver sustainable alternatives for the food protection market.”
Trials have been conducted by specialised Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and renowned independent institutes such as the Department of Plant Pathology of the University of Davis, California and the Cal Poly Strawberry Center (US). Regulatory trials were conducted according to industry standards and European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization guidelines (to comply with EU regulatory requirements). The statistical analysis of the robust data package provides the required insights for product positioning and user recommendations for growers.
One of the CROs conducting the multi-season Evoca™ field program is Botany in the Netherlands.
Peter Korsten, CEO at Botany, said: “The results of Evoca™ in the trials at Botany are a clear example of the added value of biofungicides in the sustainable food production chain. Trials with Evoca™ surprised us by its high efficacy and consistent control results. The product is able to outperform market standards and is able to boost IPM programs.”