In a move designed to provide additional, efficacious solutions for growers of traditional row crops, leading ag bio companies Certis Biologicals and Novozymes are jointly developing their technologies as solutions for highly effective control of fungal disease. Field trials are currently underway that will test combinations of Certis Biologicals’ innovative biofungicide active ingredient with new Novozymes actives recently registered for use in the marketplace.

“The biopesticide expertise and leadership of Certis, together with the innovation of Novozymes, is a powerful partnership that will bring new solutions to row crop growers at a time when effective crop protection is more crucial than ever,” said Amy O’Shea, Certis Biologicals president and CEO. “Growers need innovative solutions, and we are proud to be part of bringing those solutions to the marketplace with Novozymes.” 

“The recent US EPA registration of Novozymes LCO Promoter technologies opens a gateway for new collaborations with innovative, first mover partners like Certis Biologicals,” said Jason Ward, head of North America, BioAg Commercial Operations at Novozymes. 

Both companies expect that trials, which are taking place in the Midwestern U.S., will begin to yield data in November 2022, ahead of the 2023 growing season.

“We believe that the power of our innovative biofungicide technology combined with Novozymes innovations will bring a level of biological efficacy to row crops that is unseen in the market today,” said Rob Gibson, Certis Biologicals global portfolio manager. “Our technical experts anticipate significant protection against spot, rust and blight when foliar applied. Through soil application, we have witnessed control against Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and Pythium. This level of protection in a single solution will consistently deliver value back to the grower.”

“Novozymes BioAg has hundreds of trial results across many years and crops documenting LCO Promoter yield increase. LCO is an ideal premix solution delivering consistent yield increases across a wide range of labeled crops, for instance, 4 to 6 bushels in corn. LCO is highly compatible with most crop protection formulations and is effective at low dosages resulting in unchanged use rate for the existing crop protection product,” said Adam Kayser, BioAg technical agronomist at Novozymes.

Certis Biologicals biofungicide provides broad-spectrum preventative control or suppression of many fungal and bacterial plant diseases. Novozymes technology utilizes Lipo-chitooligosaccharide (LCO) Promoter technology to maximize plant health and crop performance. 

Growers who are interested in learning more about the trials can visit certisbio.com or novozymes.com/bioag.