MustGrow Biologics Corp. (TSX-V:MGRO, OTCQB:MGROF) has joined an international consortium that is looking for ways to combat the fungal disease currently threatening the banana industry.
The company has been accepted as a member of the Global Alliance Against TR4, which brings together food brands such as Chiquita, Dole, Fyffes and Del Monte, with value chain companies, researchers from the likes of Bayer and various universities, trade associations, financial services, the public sector and civil society to defeat the Fusarium wilt TR4 (TR4) fungal disease.
Threatening the prospects of the $25 billion global banana industry as well as the future of an important source of nutrition and income around the world, TR4-infected plantations can lose 100% of their crops and be quarantined for decades.
MustGrow said it is collaborating by bringing its uniquely effective technologies to help address the issue, via its commercial partnership with Bayer, which includes an option to build on the Saskatoon company's work in treating TR4.
MustGrow's approach harnesses the natural defense mechanism of the mustard plant to develop organic, safe, and effective biofungicides and biopesticides to treat a variety of pests, fungus, and disease, including TR4, as shown in previous laboratory tests.
These tests in Colombia demonstrated 100% control of TR4 using MustGrow's biofungicide technology, while field trial settings showed reduced incidence and severity of TR4 symptoms in banana plants after 21 days, while higher application rates led to no damage or phytotoxic effects to the banana plants, allowing MustGrow to explore treating the banana plants directly, in addition to soil applications.
"I celebrate the willingness of MustGrow to join forces in this endeavor to put an end to this hazard, and contribute in this manner to the food security and the economy of several families involved in the banana value chain," Gabriel Rodríguez Marqués, IICA representative of the Global Alliance Against TR4.
Photo: M.Dita/Biodiversity International, Colombia