Indigo launches biological fungicide ‘biotrinsic X19’ to combat seedling diseases in corn and soyabean

This fungicide offers farmers the flexibility to design effective crop protection plans based on their specific field conditions.

US-based Indigo Agriculture has announced the commercial launch of the industry’s first biological fungicide based on the microbe Kosakonia cowanii, giving farmers a leg up on the 2023 growing season.Initially registered and announced by the company in April 2022, biotrinsic X19 is the first fungicide in Indigo’s line of biological seed treatments, which offers farmers the flexibility to design effective crop protection plans based on their specific field conditions. The product establishes Indigo’s biotrinsic portfolio as one of the few in the industry capable of helping farmers address both biotic and abiotic stresses.

The product features a unique triple mode of action. When the microbes in biotrinsic X19 encounter mycelium or hyphae of targeted seedling disease pathogens, they rapidly surround the mycelium using Bioblocker™ action to form a microbial wall of separation between plant roots and the seedling disease, interfering with disease transference.

“We know farmers are always looking for new and better ways to raise the healthiest and most profitable crop and biotrinsic X19 can help farmers do just that,” said Peter Bunce, Commercial Head of Biologicals at Indigo Ag. “A breakthrough biofungicide that sets an uncompromising new standard for managing key seedling diseases in corn and soyabean acres, biotrinsic X19 works by empowering the plant’s natural disease management processes.”

Like all other products in the biotrinsic line, X19 uses microbes to fortify plant growth. The microbes in biotrinsic X19 are living organisms that grow in harmony with plants, colonising their roots and expanding the zone of disease intervention as the roots grow. In replicated university field trials, X19 recorded average yield uplifts of 2.6 bu/acre for soy and 8.6 bu/acre for corn.

“Anytime we can help plants protect themselves using natural elements, rather than introducing synthetic elements, it’s a benefit to both the plants and the soil,” said Jake Hoalt, co-founder and owner of Xceleration Ag, an Illinois farmer and ag retailer, who trialed the X19 product as part of biotrinsic Beta Fields, a program offering free and early access to some of the latest biological technologies to improve crop resilience.

This fungicide offers farmers the flexibility to