Rehovot, Israel: Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: EVGN), a leading biotechnology company developing novel products for life science markets, announced today that its Ag-Biologicals division has achieved positive yield results leading to phase advancement in its bio-stimulant for wheat program. This phase advancement, from discovery to initial development, is based on meeting efficacy criteria in spring wheat field trials with significant yield improvements of 10%-20%.
Wheat is one of the world’s most important crops accounting for a significant portion in the world’s diet. The global wheat flour market was valued at approximately $200 billion in 2015 and is estimated to reach approximately $270 billion by 2022[1]. Almost 40% of the total wheat planted[2] in North America is spring wheat, mostly concentrated in North Dakota and Western Canada. Evogene’s bio-stimulant candidates for spring wheat are being initially developed as seed treatments with additional application methodologies planned to follow.
Having moved to the development stage, efforts are now focused on advancement of formulation technology and fermentation protocols for the improvement of performance consistency and to reduce production costs. Further steps will include field trials in the US in the coming season followed with expansion into Western Canada, which are the key geographies for a 1st product launch.
Ido Dor, EVP and GM, Ag-Biologicals stated: “We are proud of the progress achieved in our bio-stimulant program for wheat which signifies an important step in the process of increasing wheat crop productivity. Ag-biological products are an environmentally friendly alternative which will also make wheat a healthier choice for consumers. We look forward to updating you as we continue to move towards commercialization with these candidates and with others from our diverse ag-bio product portfolio which now includes stimulants, insecticides and fungicides.”
Ofer Haviv, Evogene’s President and CEO stated: “Ag-Biologicals are an exciting area of activity for Evogene in that successful product development could provide opportunities for a relatively near-term product launch. Furthermore, the wheat market is significantly less centralized, allowing companies like ours to potentially commercialize directly with distributers, thus capturing a larger portion of final product revenues.”
Source: http://www.evogene.com/
