Pheromone innovations for sustainable crop protection

New technologies have been developed to make pheromones more affordable, effective, and easier to be applied, leading to their wider adoption and greater contribution to sustainable crop protection. 

AgroPages interviewed experts from Certis Europe, BASF, BioPhero, Pherobank and Trifolio-M GmbH. They introduced their pheromone innovations, and shared the views on pheromone advantages and markets. They also gave us advices for farmers' highest ROI.

Could you please introduce your company? What are your target markets?

Certis Europe: Certis Europe is a leading company in the provision of Biorationals, registered plant protection products generally derived from the natural environment. They offer improved benefits for plants, people and the planet, which are increasingly important factors for Integrated Crop Production to satisfy requirements of the value chain and consumers.

Certis has, for many years, focused on using science-based research to expand its portfolio and to deliver technically sound, sustainable and economically viable solutions that support growers and bring benefits for consumers. Its wide portfolio includes micro-organisms, natural substances and pheromones and all products are officially registered under the crop protection guidelines, which means that the quality and safety of all these products is guaranteed and performance has been proven by scientific research and development trials. Certis is present in France, Italy and Spain, the major markets for pheromones, with its range of pheromone products using the Cidetrak technology.

BASF: At BASF Agricultural Solutions, we aim to further strengthen our market position as an integrated provider of seeds, crop protection and digital solutions. Our connected offer comprises fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and biological solutions, as well as seeds and seed treatment products, complemented by digital products to help farmers achieve better yield. 

Our innovation-driven strategy for agriculture focuses on four selected crop combinations, known as crop systems: 1. soy, corn (maize) and cotton in the Americas; 2. wheat, canola (oilseed rape) and sunflowers in North America and Europe; 3. rice in Asia; and 4. fruit and vegetables globally. We actively steer our connected offer for farmers and the agricultural industry toward sustainable solutions by integrating sustainability criteria into all business and portfolio decisions.

Within the Agricultural Solutions segment, we remain committed to active investment in pioneering R&D for new insecticides that simplify farmers' operations and address the toughest pest threats and production needs. Taking a balanced approach against a complex societal, regulatory, environmental and business background, we are deepening our diversified insecticide portfolio.

As a leader in the pheromone market, we have decades of experience, supporting farmers across the globe with this technology. To date, our focus in this market is on specialty crops like fruit trees or grapes in Europe and South America. Given BASF's R&D capabilities, we want to expand our portfolio over the coming years to continue to help farmers address growing pest challenges on their farms.

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Photo created by jcomp - freepik

Source: Ag News