Biotalys has received approval from the Dutch Board for the Authorization of Plant Protection Products and Biocides to run large-scale demonstration trials of its biofungicide candidate EVOCA NG, which the company calls the product’s world-first commercial application under real growing conditions, AgriBusiness Global reports.
Growers may test it on up to 150 hectares of tomatoes, 150 hectares of cucumbers and 50 hectares of strawberries, a large expansion of earlier demonstration work with the first-generation EVOCA. Harvested produce may enter the food chain.
The trials target Botrytis and powdery mildew. Botrytis attacks flowers, fruits, leaves and stems, causing grey mould that cuts yield and marketable quality; powdery mildew grows on leaves and other green tissue and weakens the plant.
EVOCA NG uses the company’s protein-based AGROBODY technology. Biotalys says it supports growers at a time when many conventional products face resistance, are being phased out or are no longer authorized.
CEO Carlo Boutton said the trials provide “real-world validation” and reflect regulators’ growing confidence in the technology’s safety.
Dutch growers who used the earlier product gave favourable accounts. “We applied EVOCA on 3.7 hectares of strawberries with great results,” said Noud Dings of Brookberries, where it replaced a synthetic fungicide in a rotation. Rob van Enckevort of De Peelkroon said it had been used successfully against powdery mildew in strawberries for two years running.
European registration and launch are expected in 2029.
Photo: Dollymoon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: AgriBusiness Global
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