BASF continues to extend its global layout for biologicals-based solutions

Editor’s Note: Major agrochemical giants recently successivly announced increased investment in the area of biologicals-based solutions. Accordingly, AgroPages has recently had an interview with Alyson Emanuel, Vice President, Business Management, Functional Crop Care Global Business Unit, BASF Crop Protection, who shared her viewpoints on BASF’s biologicals-based solutions, competitive advantage, as well as opportunity &challenge in the area of biologicals.

Q1.  Could you please introduce the layout of BASF’s biologicals-based solutions, competitive advantage, as well as its global expansion in this area?

BASF biologicals-based solutions include biocontrols and biostimulants such as inoculants. Our solutions are available for seed, in furrow, in soil and foliar applications, often together in programs that include conventional chemistry-based crop protection products.Biological products extend BASF’s portfolio and are not substitutes for BASF chemical crop protection products.

Benefits of seed-applied biologicals products include nitrogen fixation, a longer window of protection from diseases, improved yield and quality outcomes.

Foliar-applied biocontrols provide a valuable tool in integrated pest management (IPM) programs, providing growers with more options: flexible working practices with shorter re-entry intervals, new ways to meet evolving consumer expectations, an extended window of protection, and resistance management.

Our commitment continues to be to identify and bring to market biologicals-based solutions that work together with chemical offers as these are crucial for growers’ continued success worldwide.

Regarding competitive advantage,BASF has in-depth experience in fermentation and formulation technologies for biologicals, and we will continue to expand our technology base in this area. Additionally, our commercial footprint is global, with sales forces in every region.  As well our manufacturing footprint is global, and we have recently added capacity in key facilities for biologicals-based solutions including:

•  2015 expansion to our inoculants and beneficial nematodes production facility in Littlehampton, UK;

•  The BASF Seed Solutions and Biological Research Center opened in Limburgerhof, Germany in 2016;

•  2016 expansion of the Durban, South Africa plant to increase production of biological insecticides and inoculants;

•  Planned expansions of manufacturing sites in Australia and Canada for production of seed-applied inoculants and biocontrol products.

Biologicals-based solutions beyond conventional crop protection is a strategic business direction for BASF Crop Protection, and investments are aligned accordingly.

Q2.  Could you please introduce BASF’s key biologicals-based products in its portfolio and the pipeline biological products under R&D as well as its related advantages?

Key biologicals-based products in BASF’s portfolio include:

•    HiStick®, HiCoat®, Nodulator® and Vault®-- seed-applied inoculants;
•    Integral® -- seed-applied biological fungicide;
•    Serifel®--foliar-applied biological fungicide
•    Velifer®--foliar-applied biological insecticide; global trade name for product that is marketed in South Africa as Broadband®
•    Nemasys®-- foliar- and soil-applied beneficial nematodes for pest control
•    Nemaslug®-- foliar-appled beneficial nematodes for slug and small snail pests
•    PL Gold ®-- foliar-applied beneficial fungi for nematode control

BASF has a range of projects in its pipeline, including new biological insect and disease control for foliar and seed applications as well as seed-applied chemical actives, including Velondis™ a seed-applied biological fungicide.

BASF is interested in every possible solution to the key problems affecting farmers and is therefore screening various technologies in soil, seed and crop to assess their potential in this regard.

Our R&D activities follow the innovation drivers nutrient use efficiency, improved environmental outcomes, yield increase, and the potential of biologicals to complement and be used with classical chemistry. Joint initiatives with our research platforms target novel polymer systems for better seed coatings or improved formulations for biologicals. Another research focus aims at developing novel technologies for plant health. Among these are highly efficient screening methods that allow excellent transferability to the field.

Q3.  Could you please introduce BASF’s inoculants products and its application situation?

Inoculants support growers’ yield potential and return on investments.  Inoculants provide nitrogen for the host legume plant in a form that is highly cost-effective. Nitrogen is essential for photosynthesis, vegetative and reproductive growth.  Additionally, nitrogen also plays an important role in root structure:  plant roots with adequate nitrogen perform more efficiently.  Effective inoculation leads to improved total yield potential through more uniform and strong plant growth at a critical stage in the plant’s life. BASF markets inoculants in all regions, and key products in our portfolio include HiStick®, HiCoat®, Nodulator® and Vault®.

Q4.  As we know, extending biopesticides to the row crops creates tremendous challenge and opportunity, so could you talk about the promotion condition of BASF biological crop protection in the row crops?  What is the main challenge in the process of extending?

We see increasing use of biological crop protection solutions to complement chemistry-based products over the next five years, and indeed in some countries and crops they are already important. For instance, in the U.S. we are marketing the first ever co-pack of conventional and biological fungicides for in-furrow application on corn. Chemistry will always be more relied upon due to the typically wider spectrum of control and efficacy under most environmental conditions, but we see biocontrols growing to be an important factor in the coming years.

The properties of biological crop protection products can be very different. Some biological crop protection products are extremely stable while others require some special handling, such as temperature-controlled environments for storage and transport.

As with any of our products, we continuously work to improve formulations,which includes ways to extend the shelf life and performance of biological crop protection products in order to extract their full potential in integrated pest management.

Q5.  Could you please talk about the application situation of global biologicals-based solutions?

Already, in all key markets including Europe, North America and South America, farmers are benefiting from biological fungicides and biological insecticides as well as inoculant seed treatments.  Biocontrols use is growing in all three regions. Adoption of all types of biological solutions in Asia is ongoing, with those countries further along in modern agriculture having more advanced usage.