Videreutvikling av miljøvennlig fungicid; oppskalering, formulering og kommersialisering

With a strong global growth of the population and an expected shortage of food, effective combating of plant diseases are crucial. The market for conventional chemical fungicides were estimated to 86 billion NOK in 2011 and is expected to rise to 128 billion in 2017 (Global Fungicidal Industry 2012-2017: Trend, Profit, and Forecast Analysis, report from Lucintel). There are major problems associated with the use of chemicals in agriculture; pollution of soil and groundwater, toxicity to animals and humans, and residues are found in the produced food. Since fungi also develops resistance to these chemicals, an even more intensive use is the result, or a completely loss of effect. There is a great need for effective alternative fungicides that can drastically reduce the use of toxic chemicals and simultaneously overcome resistance issues (EU Directive 2009/128 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 ("Establishing a Framework Community Action two Achieve the Sustainable Use of Pesticides "). New regulations from 2014 makes several of the most toxic pesticides prohibited, and these needs to be replaced by more eco-friendly alternatives. BioCHOS has developed a technology where chitosan oligomers (CHOS), produced from the marine biopolymer chitin (from shrimp and crab shells), are mixed with conventional chemical fungicides. CHOS and conventional chemical fungicides acts in synergy against plant pathogenic fungi, which means that the amount of pesticide can be reduced by 90% compared to current levels. Our innovation will thus contribute to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in line with the EU directive.