The biological liquid nematicide is presented as an alternative to traditional chemical products
Bayer has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with UK-based Ecospray to market a biological liquid nematicide sourced from garlic.
The product is said to present a biological alternative to traditional synthetic chemical nematicides in vegetable and potato crops, and will be marketed in the EU under the new name Velsinum.
“Farmers in the EU are in desperate need of new, effective solutions against pests for their high-value vegetable crops,” said Jens Hartmann, regional head for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at Bayer’s Crop Science division. “Velsinum will be a welcome addition into Bayer’s trusted portfolio of biological solutions and technologies supported by innovations like Velum, BioAct, Nematool and Terra MG.”
Nematodes cause over €75 billion worth of damage to crops globally each year, with all crops facing at least one nematode pest threat. Velsinum will offer growers a new tool against nematode root damage with complementary benefits for both plant and soil health.
Plants which can avoid root damage are better able to absorb available nutrients and also can withstand disease and pest pressure overall, while safekeeping beneficial earthworm populations to maintain soil quality.
Ecospray’s knowledge of the naturally occurring bioactive compounds contained within garlic has allowed it to develop effective plant-protection products that take advantage of the natural nematicidal properties of garlic extract in order to create safe, effective and zero-residue solutions, according to the company.
“We are excited to collaborate with Bayer on Velsinum, which is fully compatible with Bayer’s existing biological portfolio,” said Peter McDonald, CEO of Ecospray. “This partnership is a strong endorsement of Ecospray and its R&D capabilities developed over many years. We also greatly appreciate the ongoing support from our existing distributors in Europe Certis Belchim BV and CBC (Europe) SRL., who remain vital to our market development with our legacy product Nemguard.”
