Organic Roundup In Future?
August 28, 2008 Marrone Organic Innovations Inc. (MOI) is seeking the Holy Grail of biological crop protectioni products: organic Roundup.
With the boom in consumption of organic foods creating a pressing need for natural insecticides and herbicides that can be used on crops certified as "organic," biopesticide pioneer Dr. Pam G. Marrone is reporting development of a new "green" pesticide obtained from an extract of the giant knotweed in a report scheduled for presentation at the 236th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
That 12-foot-high Goliath, named for the jointed swollen nodes on its stem, invaded the U.S. from Japan years ago and grows along the East Coast and other areas. "The product is safe to humans, animals, and the environment," says Marrone, founder and CEO of MOI in Davis, CA.
The new biopesticide has active compounds that alert plant defenses to combat a range of diseases, including powdery mildew, gray mold, and bacterial blight that affect fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals. The product will be available this October for conventional growers, according to Dr. Marja Koivunen, director of research and development for MOI. A new formulation has also been developed for organic farmers and will be available in 2009.
Although sales of synthetic pesticides dominate the $30 billion pesticide market, the use of biopesticides is increasing. MOI officials estimate that global sales will hit $1 billion by 2010 and grow 10 percent a year on average. Biopesticides could make up 4.25 percent of the global pesticide business in 2010, up from 2.5 percent in 2005. As they become more popular, synthetic pesticides are expected to shrink by 1.5 percent each year over the same period.
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