Already used in over 30 countries around the world, Timorex Gold, a broad-spectrum plant extract ideal for resistance management, is being primed for introduction to the U.S. market. Due to its effectiveness as well as growing acceptance of biopesticides, the product's advocates believe it will be well-received by American growers.
“The U.S. biopesticide market is unique in some ways,” explained Sarah Reiter, Stockton Group's U.S. country manager. “There is a unique pathway here with the Environmental Protection Agency that favors development and registration of biologics, so the market has a lot of options for growers. It's a crowded market for biologics because growers are used to lots of innovation. Products really have to perform well, and growers will figure out if they don't.”
It's that competitive market where Reiter believes Timorex Gold will do well because of its distinct characteristics. First, it fits several niches that U.S. growers will appreciate. Biopesticides have gained greater acceptance, especially over the last decade, and growers now use synthetics and biologics as complementary tools that work well together. In that sense, Timorex Gold has a great track record augmenting the effectiveness of traditional synthetic pesticides. But even among biopesticides, it stands out as a versatile disease control agent.
“Biologics have a double fit, in general, because they are inherently less toxic and help with resistance development for synthetics,” noted Reiter. “But it's a contact biopesticide, and with a residual less than systemic, it can be alternated with systemics to treat seasonal diseases.” If that weren't enough, it's already showing great promise for indoor use in Canada's greenhouses, so it's a good option for both open field and controlled environment growing.
It's also just an extremely effective way to prevent and treat diseases that afflict a variety of crops, added Reiter, and in the U.S., as in the rest of the world, growers appreciate anything that is effective. The product is already the leading biofungicide in Latin America, and it's from that strong position of success that the brand is entering the U.S. market. It has a very low FRAC 7 designation, which means that, from a resistance management perspective, it performs very well. The fact that this is a new brand for the U.S. market, where it will be used on diseases that have never been treated with Timorex Gold, means it will perform especially well ... and serves not only as a biofungicide, but as a bacteriacide as well.
“The product has great potential in the United States with berries, controlling mildew in leafy vegetables, grapes, and it has shown promise with tree nuts,” noted Reiter. “But the biggest opportunity could be in bacterial control for tomatoes and peppers. Growers always say there are never enough bacterial control solutions, with bacteria always seeming to get the upper hand, so anything we can bring to that is valuable.”
Timorex Gold is currently approved in a few states, and the EPA has approved it for use on tomatoes, berries, curcubits, grapevines, onions, lettuce peanuts and a slew of other crops. Reiter is working on getting approval in all states and then getting the product into the hands of growers and research institutions. From there, she plans to increase the product's profile and make it one of many products Stockton has for growers to use. Based in Davis, California, a hotbed of biological activity in agriculture, the company is well-poised to meet its goals.
“We brought on a major investor last year that has allowed us to grow globally into a company that has a significant biologic portfolio,” said Reiter. “The goal is to continually innovate and become a company that growers rely on in the biologic space. To that end, we're also looking for in-licensing partners, including small bio companies in the U.S., to broaden our product portfolio.”
