Oct 24, 2022

Syngenta recognizes award finalist biofungicide Quilliabrium

Botanical Solution Inc., innovator of sustainable, consistent and cost-effective advanced botanical materials for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications, has been named a finalist in the Crop Science Award for Best Industry Collaboration with distribution partner Syngenta.

In 2019, Botanical Solution Inc. (BSI) launched a biofungicide extracted from a tree that grows in Chile, known as the Quillaja saponaria. Deforrestation laws in Chile limit the exploitation of the trees, but BSI patented a unique method of growing them in a lab and extracting the active ingredient. Syngenta agreed to distribute this new product in Chile.

The product, effective in controlling Botrytis, was marketed in Chile under the trade name BotriStop. BSI and Syngenta worked with researchers and growers in Chile and other countries, and validated it is effective in controlling other plant diseases, including Sour Rot, Powdery Mildew and Alternaria.

BSI and Syngenta renamed the product Quillibrium and expanded distribution to Peru and Mexico. BSI is also testing Quillibrium in the U.S. and other countries.

“Thanks to the expertise and dedication of Syngenta’s technical, field staff and management team, their passion for effective and sustainable solutions, and their thoroughness in field testing, we have demonstrated that Quillibrium is a great tool for designing highly efficacious integrated pest management strategies,” BSI CEO Gastón Salinas said in a news release.

“I am impressed by the innovative in vitro production and extraction process of BSI, as well as their future pipeline of botanical-based products,” Laszlo Laczko, Syngenta’s head of global biological business development, said in the release. “These products represent highly sustainable tools for growers because they are highly efficacious, easy-to-use, and have zero chemical residues.”

Quillibrium was also named by the Crop Science judges as a finalist for the “Best New Biological Product of the Year.” Earlier this year BSI was awarded “Best Biotech Startup Business of The Year” by the World BioProtection Forum.

Photo: Syngenta representatives tour Botanical Solution Inc. labs to learn how the biologicals company grows Quillaja saponaria trees and extracts the active ingredient for biofungicide Quilliabrium. PHOTO: BSI