Biocontrol product Toltek, manufactured by Certis Biologicals in the USA and distributed by Certis Belchim in Europe, has taken the top prize at this year’s Bernard Blum Awards.
Announced today at the 19th edition of ABIM, the Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting, held in Basel, Switzerland, the Bernard Blum Awards recognise innovation in the biocontrol industry. The Awards are organised by IBMA – International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association – and have been running since 2015.
The ceremony was chaired by Alain Querrioux, from Andermatt France and Treasurer of IBMA Global, who gave an outline of the criteria considered by an independent panel of judges.
The gold award went to the biofungicide product Toltek, the first biocontrol product for Take-All disease, which affects grass and cereal crops. When receiving the award on behalf of Certis Belchim, Jan Mostert said that the active ingredient in Toltek was a microbial and ‘it is not easy to make it survive as a seed treatment.’ The microorganism is microorganism Bacillus amyloliquefaciens D747.
The silver award went to Cearitis and SATT Sayens for a combination insect repulsion-trapping product Remo – Samo – Pera, and bronze went to Belgium company Biotalys for its protein-based biocontrol product Evoca.
The award for best product assisting the uptake of biocontrol went to Australia’s The Crop Capsules Company and its product CottonCAP – a capsule dropped by aircraft on cotton acres containing Eretmocerus hayati larvae that feed on the pest silverleaf whitefly.
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