Agreement aligns Sylvan’s market strength with AgraQuest’s innovative technology
DAVIS, Calif. (October 6, 2008) – AgraQuest Inc., a leading provider of effective and safe pest management products for agriculture, and Sylvan Inc., a leader in fungal technology and the world’s largest producer and distributor of mushroom spawn, announced a global strategic alliance to commercialize JAZZ™ fungicide, a new product for control of green mold in commercial mushroom production.
The current lack of effective products for green mold control – Trichoderma harzianum (aggresivum) – in the $13 billion global mushroom industry has growers seeking better solutions to combat dramatically rising worldwide occurences of the disease and avoid devastating crop losses, thus increasing yield and profit.
JAZZ has been rigorously tested since 2007, in both the United States and France, to validate its efficacy on green mold in mushrooms. Results have been compelling, with strong disease control extending through the first, second and third breaks in nearly all cases, and improved yields over both uninfected beds and infected beds treated with other products.
Uniquely formulated for use on mushrooms, JAZZ fungicide offers growers a valuable tool to protect mushroom houses and improve their profits through enhanced yuields. Additional benefits of JAZZ include a best in class environmental, residue and worker safety profile, although efficacy against green mold remains the product’s most compelling attribute.
“In evaluations this year, JAZZ out-performed the competitive standards,” said Dr. Mark Wach, Director of Biosciences for Sylvan. “We saw beds that started cleaner and stayed cleaner through all the flushes.”
“We are very pleased that a company of Sylvan’s stature recognizes the exciting potential of an innovative product such as JAZZ. They are an excellent fit as a strategic ally in the mushroom market; their deep understanding of grower practices places them in a unique position to raise grower awareness, fulfill supply requirements, and guide the commercialization and adoption of JAZZ,” said Marcus Meadows-Smith, Chief Executive Officer of AgraQuest.
“JAZZ fungicide has a compelling value proposition for the grower, and it complements our market-leading portfolio of products for mushroom producers,” said Monir Elzalaki, President of Sylvan America, the Sylvan subsidiary that will be implementing the AgraQuest alliance on Sylvan’s behalf. “This affliliation with AgraQuest enables us to leverage our expertise in product commercialization and our global market strength, while offering cutting-edge technology to growers for control of this devastating disease.”
Sylvan will begin markerting JAZZ fungicide in the United States immediately, and will be working in the coming months to register and commercialize the product in key markets of the Americas and Europe including Canada, Ireland, Poland, and the Netherlands.
About AgraQuest
AgraQuest is a biotechnology company that focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing highly effective pest management products for agricultural, institutional and home markets. AgraQuest solutions are designed to offer its customers a high degree of flexibility, yield enhancement, and best in class control for maximizing profit potential. AgraQuest’s global portfolio of products – recognized as safe to beneficials, workers, and the environment – include SERENADE®, SERENADE® Garden, RHAPSODY®, SONATA® and BALLAD® fungicides and BARITONE® insecticide. AgraQuest has received several environmental awards including the Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the U.S. EPA for the discovery and commercialization of SERENADE. More information can be found at their web site: www.agraquest.com.