Effective solution for avocado disease found

There is a disease called Colletotrichum which affects avocado plantations in Latin America. STK Bio-Ag Technologies has found an excellent use for their Timorex Gold® product in this avocado disease.

Effective solution for avocado disease found

Shay Shaanan, STK Bio-Ag Technologies

This is according to Shay Shaanan, the company’s Vice President of Research and Development. “In collaboration with the growers, we found a very effective solution for this disease, using Timorex Gold®.”

Timorex Gold® is a broad-spectrum, botanical-based fungicide that can be used for many different crops or diseases. “Here, we are talking about Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. We are still in the process of registering this solution in Chile. It looks like avocado is becoming the next big crop for us. Avocado is the new banana”, says Shay. “We are constantly developing new applications for the product because it has many modes of action.”

Shay explains why Timorex Gold® is so versatile. “It is made from the extract of the Australian tea tree. This extract contains various molecules. Each molecule has a different function. Basically, Timorex Gold® is a product that can be used in many different ways. It counters many different diseases and has different effects on different plants.”

Interesting finding in banana plants
He goes on to say that they have learned from the banana growers in Brazil that Timorex Gold® affects their trees’ roots when sprayed directly onto the tree’s leaves. According to Shay, this combats Fusarium disease, which affects the roots of the banana tree. “This is very interesting.”

“We know that Timorex Gold® molecules penetrate the plant, but not moving systemically down to the roots . Spraying the tree’s leaves with this product dramatically influences its roots and the entire plant. We are researching exactly how this happens, but we now know that Timorex Gold® has another good attribute.”


The benefit of using Timorex Gold® is also being recognised further down the food chain. One of the international supermarket chains in Brazil has introduced a high taste and quality category, requiring that produce have no chemical residue and pass labor and environmental audits. Bananas treated with Timorex Gold® have qualified for this program and have received the taste and quality label.
The use of Timorex Gold® has been reauthorised in Chile until 2022 and has been expanded to include other fruits & vegetables. It has been approved in China, Brazil, and just about every US state.

Expanding quickly
Shay goes on to say that STK is growing very fast, with its technologies expanding geographically. “There have been so many new developments with Timorex Gold®, Aviv®, REGEV ™, and partnerships in the last six months or so”. This company is one of a handful that focuses on developing botanically-based pesticide solutions.

One of these partnership deals for Timorex Gold® is with BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world. “Our strategy is based on this kind of cooperation”, says Shay. “We see the benefits of this from two angles. Firstly, these large companies have access to the big markets. They can usually offer our product better than us because of the army of salespeople that they have at their disposal.”

“The other angle is that we are developing new lines of biopesticides based on mixing biological and soft chemical solutions. In order to develop these new products, we need to cooperate with large multinational companies to get access to their data packages in various countries. This is the most costly part of trying to register new solutions on the market, especially in Europe and the US.”

Shay adds that Europe is a much a tougher market to penetrate than the United States. “It takes much longer, and the costs are much higher”, he says. “European farmers will not use unregistered products. We are working hard to get Timorex Gold® onto the European market. We have submitted a registration, which should be completed in 2021. This is only in two years time, but in our industry two years is like tomorrow.”

AVIV ‘Low Dose’ Bacillus subtilis biofungicide
Another well-known STK Bio-Ag Technologies product in the US is AVIV®. AVIV® is an advanced microbial solution, a low-dose fungicide that contains Bacillus subtilis”, says Shay. “You only use a very small fraction compared to other well-known similar products. This is a big advantage.” Shay continues, “The strain of Bacillus in AVIV® as is also much more efficient, so you need much less in order to get the same efficacy.”

“It is much easier for the farmer to use”, says Shay. “The very friendly and clear formulation makes the difference. This product is selling well, especially in the USA.”

AVIV has recently been approved for use in California and 26 other American states. “Things are progressing ahead of schedule”, says Shay.

Hybrid Fungicide: REGEV®
REGEV™ is STK Bio-Ag Technologies’ first hybrid pest control. “It is a completely new solution on the market”, Shay says. “We call it a bridge. We believe that this is a nice link for us to reach conventional farmers. These farmers are feeling pressured into using more environmentally-friendly solutions. They are hesitant to go all out in using purely biological products. These are usually not as efficient as the chemical pesticides.”

“Once you tell them REGEV™is a mixture of a biological fungicide with a chemical they know,” he continues to say, “it makes it much easier for them to use it. In many cases, this solution performs better than the chemical solutions they are familiar with. At the end of the day, they reduce the amount of chemical they use dramatically. It is also very versatile when it comes to which crops it can be used on. In each country, different crops respond well to this product.”

“REGEV™ solves a big problem”, adds Shay. “The use of bio-pesticides is growing at an average of annual rate of something like 15 – 20 %. In contrast, synthetic pesticide usage is only increasing by three per cent year-on-year. Yet, most growers are still not using any biologicals. Why is this?”

He says REGEV™ addresses this issue. “It is a premix, so the farmer does not have to mix anything, and they do not have to do rotations between bio-pesticides and conventional pesticides. So, the grower can use REGEV in exactly the same way he used his chemical pesticide. Only now, with REGEV™, the farmer gets to participate in this biological revolution and gets to have a more sustainable profile. He also has a new product with which manage crop disease resistance.”

Hybrid Technology at LATAM BioControl Conference
Shay says the company has great faith in this product. “We can see how fast the farmers and industry are accepting this product. That is why there several new hybrid solutions in the pipeline. We have many interesting, attractive developments in the works.”

Jose Antonio Estevez, STK Bio-Ag Technologies’Colombia Country Manager, will be doing a presentation about its ‘hybrid technology’ at the upcoming LATAM BioControl Conference. This is the largest international event dedicated to biocontrol in Latin America. It is to be held on 14 November in Medellin, Colombia.

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Summit Agro becomes the Exclusive Partner of STK in the USA

Summit Agro will distribute STK Botanical Biopesticides and Innovative ‘Hybrids’ in the USA April 15,  (Petach Tikvah, Israel) – STK bio-ag technologies, the innovative Israeli leader in botanical sustainable crop protection, has partnered with Summit Agro U.S.A., which will become the exclusive distributor of STK products in the United States. Effective immediately, Summit Agro USA will assume the marketing and sales responsibility for STK products in the USA.  Currently registered STK products, include TIMOREX GOLD® and Timorex ACT®.  TIMOREX GOLD® is the world’s leading botanical-based biofungicide, used in nearly 40 countries and currently approved for use throughout the USA for a wide range of uses.  Timorex ACT®, is a new OMRI – listed biofungicide for organic farming and conventional agriculture.  Pending registration is REGEV®. REGEV® is the first ‘hybrid’ pre-mixed combination of a botanical-based biopesticide with a chemical pesticide. Comprised of Tee Tree Oil (TTO) and Difenoconazole, REGEV® is already used in approximately 15 countries and has proven activity on a wide range of horticultural and row crops. EPA registration is anticipated in the first quarter of 2020.   In addition to the STK products, Summit Agro will also assume the STK non-exclusive rights to sell AVIV® biological fungicide in the US. Already successfully launched in the US, AVIV® offers broad spectrum disease control in key fruit and vegetable crops. CEO Arye Tennebaum of STK declared, “I am delighted to announce this partnership with Summit Agro. They are a world-class organization, with a great team of highly knowledgeable and dedicated professionals to help fruit and vegetable growers with STK’s cutting edge technologies for plant health and yield growth.”   The President and CEO of Summit Agro USA, Bill Lewis, also commented, stating,” Summit Agro is very excited with this opportunity.  The addition of the STK brands to the existing strong Summit Agro brand family will allow Summit Agro to offer a wide range of disease control options.   We are confident that in coordination with our exclusive distribution partners, Helena Agri Enterprises and the Tenkoz Member Companies, we will be able to effectively deliver STK’s  innovative biological and ‘hybrid’ solutions to growers all across the USA. We know these are outstanding products and we’re very proud to have been selected to represent them in the USA.” About STK Founded in 1994, STK is a bio-ag technology company committed to sustainable crop protection through the use of innovative biological products. STK’s botanical-based solutions (BBS), a synergy of cutting-edge scientific research and technology, enhance the safety, yield and quality of multiple crops. STK’s botanical and hybrid solutions are easily integrated into conventional spraying programs, helping to advance the Integrated Pest Management approach to food production. About Summit Agro Summit Agro USA, located in Durham, NC is focused on working with our partners to identify, develop, and deliver innovative solutions that meet the needs of growers across the United States.  Summit Agro has a history of bringing innovative solutions to market and can manage the full process from initial development to sales. This integrated business approach enables us to provide reliable, high-quality products to US growers.  Whether the need is for insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides, Summit Agro has a full range of product offers to meet the needs of our customers.

Exclusive Distribution Agreement Announced For STK In Colombia

March 11, 2019 (Tel Aviv, Israel) – STK bio – ag technologies, the innovative Israel-based leader in bio-ag technologies and hybrid technologies for sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, and ADAMA , a global leader in crop protection products,  are announcing an exclusive agreement for the distribution of Timorex® Gold botanical-based bio-fungicide and STK REGEV® ‘Hybrid’ fungicide throughout Colombia. Under this exclusive agreement, ADAMA will sell the products throughout Colombia under STK’s trade name, Timorex® Gold and  STK REGEV®. Timorex® Gold is currently approved for use in Colombia for the following crops: Bananas, Rice, Ornamentals, Tomatoes, Avocados, Onions, Coffee, Corn, Tobacco, Potatoes, Passion fruit and Pitahaya. Colombia has also approved STK REGEV® on rice, with expected label extension on bananas, ornamentals, coffee and tomatoes. TIMOREX GOLD® is a highly effective and popular botanical-based bio-fungicide. Based on Tea Tree Oil, TIMOREX GOLD® is used by growers in nearly 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia, Australia/New Zealand and Israel. TIMOREX GOLD® protects fruits and vegetables from a wide variety of diseases, substantially increases crop yields and quality, leaves no chemical residues, and makes TIMOREX GOLD® treated crops more competitive and agriculture more sustainable internationally. STK REGEV® is the world’s first ‘hybrid’ fungicide. It is used successfully in many countries and several regions of the world.  A ready to use mix, STK REGEV® is used exactly as other fungicides, but with the added benefits of reduced chemical residues and much better resistance management due to its highly complex formulation of Tea Tree Oil and Difenoconazole. This easy  to use fungicide serves as a ‘bridge,’ enabling farmers who have never used any biological product to try one, without having to mix, rotate or do anything differently, thereby expanding the use of biological products for sustainable agriculture. Commenting on the Agreement, STK CEO, Arye Tenenbaum declared, “We are very pleased to be partnering with such a great company as ADAMA, whose world-class team of experts will promote the use of these exceptionally innovative and highly-effective biological products to Colombian growers." ADAMA Andeans Countries CEO, Edgardo Iglesias commented, “TIMOREX GOLD® and STK REGEV® complement ADAMA’s portfolio in Colombia. With these highly-advanced technologies, we aim to continue providing valuable services and products to enable farmers to optimize yields and help them grow." STK Colombia Country Manager, Jose A. Estevez added, “I have great expectations for this strategic agreement to accelerate the STK market penetration and sales growth in Colombia.”

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED FOR TIMOREX® GOLD IN SPAIN

STK & Sipcam announce an exclusive Distribution Agreement for Timorex® Gold botanical-based biofungicide in Spain January 23, 2019 (Petach Tikvah, Israel) - STK bio – ag technologies, the innovative Israel-based leader in bio-ag technologies for sustainable agriculture, and Sipcam , a global leader in crop protection products,  are announcing an exclusive agreement for the distribution and market development  of Timorex® Gold bio fungicide throughout Spain. Under this exclusive agreement, Sipcam Iberia will market and sell the product throughout Spain under STK’s trade name, Timorex® Gold. Timorex® Gold is currently approved for use in Spain on cucumber and zucchini, with label extensions applied for grapes, tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins and gherkins. Timorex® Gold is a highly- effective, eco-friendly, Maximum Residue Level exempted premium biofungicide, meeting the highest standards for sustainable agriculture. Timorex® Gold’s unique mode of action protects plants by rupturing fungus cells, increasing overall plant health and yields for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Timorex® Gold works to protect plants from Botrytis, Powdery Mildew, Black Sigatoka and many other fungal and bacterial diseases. While Timorex® Gold is currently used by growers in over 30 countries in various regions, Spain is the first country is Western Europe to approve its use. The plan is for Timorex® Gold to enter the rest of the Western Europe over the next few years. According to STK CEO Arye Tenenbaum, “The collaboration between STK bio – ag technologies & Sipcam Iberia is a testament to both companies’ commitment to sustainable agriculture and our mutual goal of providing innovative, effective and environmentally friendly solutions to growers. “  Sipcam CEO Pablo Montañés declared, “Sipcam has a rigorous process for identifying the most innovative and effective biological products and companies for distribution partnership.  We look forward to our collaboration with STK and rolling out Timorex® Gold with great success bringing a highly-effective new tool to hundreds of Spanish growers, completing the already interesting Sipcam portfolio in bioprotection.”