Switzerland uses approximately CDN$40 million/year in chemical fungicides where growers are increasingly seeking non-chemical alternatives and represents the company’s beachhead into Europe. The entire European fungicide and insecticide market is approximately CDN $9.0 billion, of which approximately CDN$1.0 billion is a target for BVT’s bee delivery system.
“Growers in Europe face a great number of restrictions on chemical pesticide use, said Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies. “Products such as ours, have both the advantage of being biologic as well as fitting nicely with European practices for sustainable and precision agriculture.”
Swiss growers are early adopters of the most advanced technologies and the Swiss registration scheme allows for a relatively fast approval, within a year, for registration dossiers which are deemed to be complete.
“We are excited by the interest in our product which has led to active discussions with two possible partners concurrent with preparing an independent go-to-market option,” said Christoph Lehnen, Business Manager, Europe.
BVT will initially target crops that require pollination and are susceptible to diseases such as botrytis, such as strawberries and tomatoes. Application of Clonostachys rosea CR-7 before pathogens infect the plant, not only controls disease, but can improve plant vigor as well as quality and yield at harvest.
The BVT system uses bumble bees to carry product directly to key areas of target plants in doses significantly lower than traditional spray applications. Additionally, using bees to deliver the product allows growers to reduce their consumption of water and diesel.
For more information:
Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
T: (647) 660-5119
info@beevt.com
www.beevt.com
Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
T: (647) 660-5119
info@beevt.com
www.beevt.com