Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60SUPPORTED BY: 18 DONguard, and a regulatory package is being developed for submission to Canadian and U.S. regulatory agencies. Something a Little Different: “Natural Products” Unlike agricultural biologicals, natural products are not living organisms but are derived from living organisms. Steven Webb, research and devel- opment director at Dow AgroSciences says natural products are not living organisms, but they can be as effective, and are widely used in organic and fruit and vegetable production systems. “Dow’s product Entrust is a widely accepted insecticide, which con- tains Spinosad,” he says. “Spinosad is obtained through the fermentation of the bacteria Saccharpolyspora spinosa. “It gives organic producers access to an effective pesticide and still maintains organic certification.” Spinosad is the active ingredient in a number of Dow products, mainly focused on greenhouses and fruit and vegetable production. Another Dow product, in develop- ment is Inatreq. It is a product derived from naturally occurring material that has been found to be effective against fungal diseases, particularly Septoria tritici. Dow will seek registration in all major wheat producing countries around the world. Regulatory Systems In Canada, biopesticides (microbial and natural products) are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in the same manner as are chemical pesticides. Testing for safety and efficacy is required, and the review period is generally about 18 months. The system is essentially the same in the United States. Biofertility products are regulated in Canada under the Fertilizer Act. They are tested for safety, but no data is required for efficacy. Great Potential from Nature Whether they are living organisms or are derived from living organisms, bio- logicals and natural products hold tre- mendous possibility. “The beauty of this is that there is so much diversity,” says Steven Webb. “We can focus on the needs of producers and production systems and find a solution in nature.” Samphir echoes that sentiment. “Microbe discovery teams go into diverse ecosystems and collect microbes and see what they can do with them,” he says. “They are look- ing for the right microbe to fit growers’ production systems.” What Growers, Retailers and Advisers Need to Know Manage Expectations – while some biologicals and natural products are effective as standalone products, many function best as part of an integrated system. “It is important to manage expectations,” Samphir says. “When used in conjunction with improved genetics and traditional chemistry, bio- logicals can increase efficiencies on the farm, and enhance environmental sus- tainability, but they don’t often act in the same way as traditional chemistry.” Pay Attention to Labels – According to Thiel, biologicals as living organisms need to be handled and stored in con- ditions to ensure they remain viable. “They are very sensitive to environmen- tal conditions. Labels need to be fol- lowed diligently, and because they are so specific, biologicals are often most effective when used as part of an inte- grated system.” Do Your Homework – “Because efficacy data is not required to register biofertility products (or any fertilizer), there is an element of ‘buyer beware,’” says Samphir. “There are hundreds of new products entering the market. It is important to obtain products for which good data is available.” Samphir says it’s also important to understand the compatibility of bio- logicals and traditional chemistry. For example, he says, sometimes living fungi biologicals are used in conjunc- tion with traditional fungicides. Will they play nice together? For how long? Patty Townsend W E B I N A R Agricultural biologicals and natural products are not new to Canada. Farmers have been using these products for at least two decades. However, changing expectations of consumers and retailers and increasingly stringent regulatory systems, combined with tremendous advances in biological science and discovery have opened up opportunities that were not there 20 years ago. Experts predict that the agricultural biologicals and natural products sectors will continue to grow. Learn more about this exciting sector by participating in the Germination webinar Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m. Eastern/12 Central. Register today at issuesink.com/germinationwebinar. LEARN MORE “Fungi and bacteria can be very successful biological crop protection agents ... while having an excellent environmental profile.” — Paul Thiel