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ADAMA receives registration for ACTAVAN First bio-fungicide, in Peru

ACTAVAN was developed in collaboration with Waikaitu; uses plant extracts as a novel active ingredient against fruit rots

ADAMA Ltd. announced the registration of its global bio-control product, ACTAVAN, in Peru. ACTAVAN is ADAMA’s first global bio-fungicide developed in collaboration with the New Zealand company Waikaitu Ltd.

ACTAVAN uses plant extracts to effectively prevent the occurrence of fruit rots in crops such as grapes, berries, and certain vegetables while improving their quality. In addition, ACTAVAN increases the sugar content, peel firmness, size, and weight of the berries, also reducing fruit splitting.

As a biological product, ACTAVAN is compatible with organic farming and integrated pest management (IPM) practices ACTAVAN represents a significant innovation in ADAMA’s physical offering and complements the existing ADAMA portfolio by providing adequate and reliable fungicidal action for all types of farming using a novel active ingredient.

“Farmers worldwide are searching for an effective bio-fungicide that allows them to incorporate sustainable agricultural practices, and still produce high-quality fruits and berries,” said Walter Costa, VP of Marketing and Product Strategy at ADAMA. “A great collaboration with Waikaitu led to a novel and powerful bio-fungicide that meets both the complex requirements of the value chain and the high-quality performance standards that fruits and vegetables producers have been waiting for.”

“We’re proud to work together with ADAMA to deliver this vital product that helps farmers maintain the balance of nature,” said Alex Pressman, CEO and founder at Waikaitu Ltd. “Sustainable farming is the future for feeding the world’s population in a way that is better for the planet and better for business. ACTAVAN protects plants from harmful fungal diseases and improves fruit quality while meeting organic and sustainable farming requirements.”

August 10, 2023

ACTAVAN was developed in collaboration with Waikaitu; uses

Europe

Stockholm scientists discover how plants adapt ‘lignin’ to grow tall and face climate change

The findings could be used in both agriculture and forestry to select plants with a lignin chemistry that better resist future climate challenges.

A new study shows how plants ‘encode’ specific chemistries of their lignin to grow tall and sustain climate changes: each plant cell uses different combinations of the enzymes LACCASEs to create specific lignin chemistries. These results can be used both in agriculture and in forestry for selecting plants with the best chemistry to resist climate challenges.

Lignin is an important carbon sink for the environment as it stores about 30 per cent of the total carbon on the planet. It allows plants to hydrate and reach tremendous heights up to 100 metres; without lignin, plants could not grow nor survive climate changes. At the cell level, specific lignin chemistries adjust the mechanical strength and waterproofing to support plant growth and survival.

Scientists at Stockholm University recently demonstrated that lignin has a chemical “code” that is adapted at the cell level to fulfill different roles in plants. How each cell “encodes” specific lignin chemistry however remained unknown. Researchers at the Department of Ecology, Environment and Botany (DEEP) at Stockholm University led by Edouard Pesquet, Associate-Professor in molecular plant physiology and senior author of the study, just showed that different enzymes called LACCASEs are used by each cell to adjust their lignin “chemical code” in order to resist stresses such as drought or wind. The study finally shows how lignin is spatially controlled at the nanometer level in each plant cell. The findings could be used in both agriculture and forestry to select plants with a lignin chemistry that better resist future climate challenges.

“The control of lignin chemistry at the cell level is ultimately the mechanism enabling plants to grow, hydrate and resist climate change stresses. These results finally demonstrate how lignin chemistry is controlled and open great possibilities to select plants upon their lignin code to improve crops and trees resistance to water availability problems,” says Edouard Pesquet.

December 5, 2022

The findings could be used in both