Plant Health Care PLC (AIM:PHC, OTCQB:PLHCF) announced Argentina has approved its Harpin ab product for use as a seed treatment.
Senasa, the country’s food safety regulator, classified it as a biostimulant organic-chemical fertiliser. Corn and soybeans will be the first crops allowed to receive Harpin.
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Argentina has 24mln hectares of corn and soybeans planted in the current season and growers spent more than US$100mln on soybean seed treatments in the previous one.
The size of the biological market in soybeans is growing rapidly and was about US$75mln in 2021, the AIM-listed group noted.
The biological products developer is currently working with multiple organisations that are evaluating Harpin and will select in-country distribution partners in due course.
Harpin works by triggering the plant's own self-defence systems, in a manner similar to vaccinations in humans. The plant responds with improved crop quality, nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress and increased yield.