Biotrop’s bioherbicide has won gold at the Bernard Blum Awards 2026, announced today at the Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) in Basel.

When accepting the award, Biotrop’s co-founder and President Jonas Hipólito said: “We tried to bring a solution that can compete with chemical products and compete on cost.”

Organised by the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA), the Bernard Blum awards have been running for 11 editions, last year was the tenth anniversary.

Helma Verberkt, director of IBMA Netherlands (Artemis), chaired the presentation and said they had received 25 applications for the awards.

Applications were assessed on scientific foundation and merit, degree of innovation, contribution to sustainable agriculture, and commercial opportunity, said IBMA, which last year celebrated its 30th anniversary while at ABIM, an event that it co-organises with FiBL, the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture.

Biotrop from Brazil took the top prize for its phytochemical bioherbicide, which is of 100% natural-origin for post-emergent and pre-harvest use in large-scale arable crops. “Natural herbicides have struggled outside controlled environments because their active compounds evaporate quickly in warm, dry weather,” said the IBMA release.

Biotrop’s binary anti-evaporation system addresses this problem, and a patent application has been filed in Brazil. In a video about the product shown during the award ceremony, it was said the absorption window for bioherbicides could be as short as 20 minutes, and extending this window was one of the priorities when developing the new product.

The Gold award comes with a prize from New AG International of an advert in the digital magazine and an interview in 2BMonthly.

The Silver award went to BioArmix for its Armix HD100 product, which uses predatory bacteria to attack plant pathogens such as those causing soft rot and blackleg in potatoes. The Israeli company has proprietary fermentation and encapsulation that enables the bacteria to stay viable as a shelf-stable dry powder at room temperature.

Speaking on receiving the award, Tzvi Zvirin from BioArmix Ltd said: “We started using the product on potatoes and are now looking at other crops, and also outside agriculture, such as aquaculture.”

The Bronze award was won by Biotalys from Belgium for its product EVOCA NG which last month received registration in California.

Evoca is a protein-based product that acts as a preventative control against grey mould and mildew. The product has a new mode of action and is recognised with a new FRAC code.

A fourth prize was introduced to the awards in 2021. This is for the Product Assisting Uptake of Biocontrol. Belgium’s Biobest (BioFirst Group) won the award for its home compostable breeding sachet for predatory mites.

“It replaces the single-use polyethylene sachets growers use to breed and release beneficial mites, and it can be shredded and composted on site with crop residues, removing a practical and environmental barrier to the adoption of biological crop protection,” said the IBMA release.