b"PARTNER CONTENTKannars Magic Develops a Greener,Safer BionematicideW eve all seen the stunted, yel-lowish, sickly stems and leaves; the galled and decaying roots of crops infested with nematodes. In North America alone, farmers spend nearly half a billion dollars tackling these tiny but voracious soil pests. Conventional con-trol methods can be harsh and toxic, but thanks to the unflagging determination of a special team of can-do people, theres a brand new, ultra-effective, and envi-ronmentally friendly discovery that can be relied on to help minimize nematode damage to most crops. The broad-spec-trum bionematicide, now licensed to a multinational for sale to the US market, is a big deal: a low-rate, green solution that often outperforms conventional options and is effective and complimentary along-side tank-mixed chemistries and other crop inputs too. The story of how this op- Kannar's proprietary strain colonies grown on Trypticase soy agar plate.tion came about offers us confidence that almost any challenge can be overcomeponent of a nematodes eggshell, juvenilesubjects proved difficult at the time we with critical thinking, perseverance, andexoskeleton, or adult nematodes pharynx. needed it.the best minds working together.As trials progressed, we realised weWhat I will say is that the effort was About a decade ago, newly retired busi- had something that not only could controlabsolutely worthwhile. The biopesticide ness owner, Tom Johnson, agreed to guideeggs, larva and adults, it actually destroyspassed all tests with flying colors. Within Kannar Earth Science, Ltd. as we morethem. Even better, it didnt overload thethe next couple of years, North American closely examined some intriguing, but pre- soil with high application rates or harshfarmers will have access to an ultra-effec-viously unproven, gram positive microbialchemicals: its an all-natural solution ap- tive bionematicide that the EPA classifies spores for possible applications in agricul- plied at a tiny fraction of the rate (3 fluidat its least toxic category rating. This is ture. We wondered if the spores might haveounces can be applied to two units of cot- huge news for an industry striving towards potential application as biopesticides, button seed and be planted over as many as 14sustainability and, we hope, just the start. we truly had no idea what we were goingacres, compared to conventional chemi- We plan to grow our partnerships to bring to discover. With persistent curiosity, wecals at 16 dry ounces per acre).this product to market in other key agri-evaluated, tested, and retested our find- And we kept digging deeper, study- cultural areas, especially Brazil.ings. We even analyzed the genomes toing how the biopesticide might work inSuccessfully moving a brand-new con-understand what the microbes can do andreal-world, in-field applications alongsidecept through to global commercialization how they do it. Understanding the rea- existing chemistries. We tested shelf life,is no small feat. To make it happen, we de-son for efficacy and the modes of actionson-seed spore survivability, and crop- pended on what we call Kannars magic: inspired us all: the bacteria ultimately dis- specific efficacy. I wont say the effort wasthe curiosity and make-it-happen tenacity covered to have nematicidal activity andeasy: we ran into roadblocks right andthat allows us to overcome obstacles in are fast multipliers. They produce enzymesleft, even finding a lab that was able tofinding real solutions to real problems; as that break down chitin, the main com- maintain a stable library of nematode testwe innovate for nature, naturally!DECEMBER 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /35"