The biofungicide Prestop® 4B (for bee) has won a gold Innovation Award at the 2017 SIVAL Expo. In combination with Biobest’s Flying doctors® hives it provides a groundbreaking new solution for Botrytis control in soft fruits. The system finally makes entomovectoring a real option for the grower with bumblebees distributing the biofungicide.
Held at the Angers Expo Congrès, SIVAL is the leading Plant Production Trade Show in France attracting over 600 exhibitors and 22,000 professional visitors from across the horticultural spectrum. Each year the SIVAL Innovation awards provide a prestigious recognition of new breakthrough products or technologies. Yann Jacques of Biobest was honored to accept the SIVAL d’Or at the awards ceremony on January 17 in the name of Biobest.
“Officially launched here at SIVAL, Prestop® 4B is the first biofungicide registered in France to be applied by entomovectoring. The product is registered for use against Botrytis in strawberry and raspberry”, explains Yann. “Biobest’s Flying Doctors® hives have been specially designed to make the bumblebees carry the product to the flowers, while pollinating. Botrytis has become a major challenge for soft fruit growers who want to reduce the use of chemicals here in France. Working closely with Lallemand Plant Care, the Prestop® 4B system has been developed to take the product directly to the flower, the primary site where Botrytis enters the fruit. The system provides for optimal product distribution and performance during flowering and for a simple, labor-saving solution to apply it.”
Prestop® 4B was registered in France in 2016 and is exclusively marketed by Biobest. For strawberry , Prestop® 4B is sold in France as part of a new ‘Combi-Pack Prestop®’ containing 6 kg of Prestop® plus 400g of Prestop® 4B - sufficient to treat 5,000m2. In raspberry Prestop® is not registered for spray application, but Prestop® 4B is registered. For raspberry applications, Prestop® 4B is sold in France in 100g bags.
Yann concludes: “This is an important step addressing the need to grow soft fruit with less chemical residues. We anticipate more applications to be registered in the future.”
Showcased on the Biobest stand at SIVAL (stand 85 in Hall ARD), the Flying Doctors® hives and Prestop® 4B system attracted plenty of interest from visitors to SIVAL.
To view the Flying Doctors® in action, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfLfenmmMNM
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