Project description
Innovative foliar spray to help crops manage the effect of climate change
Climate change is exposing crops to extreme conditions, such as drought, erratic rains, and extreme heat waves. These extremes conditions are abiotic stress factors that can have a major impact on plant growth and yield. Improving crop resistance is key. The EU-funded NURSPRAY project will bring to the market an innovative biostimulant foliar spray formulation to help plants activate their defence mechanisms in order to tolerate and recover better from abiotic stress. The spray formulation is based on one biobased signal molecule that can trigger specific plants’ response to stress conditions. The product’s efficacy was proven in more than one hundred field trials over the past two years. Large-scale trials have already started in Africa and Latin America. Nurspray technology was invented and patented by a Belgium company, Fyteko.
Objective
Fyteko's Nurspray is a biostimulant that makes crops resilient to climate stress. Nurspray activates a plant's tolerance mechanism to drought, heat and salinity, boosting recovery and crop yield. It is non-toxic and compatible with agricultural methods. Field trials have shown yield increases of 12% to 53% over a broad range of crops and locations.
Problem: Heat, drought and salinity are undermining global agricultural output by 50%, worth $100B p.a. Current agrochemicals are insufficient: there is no abiotic stress treatment product.
Solution: Nurspray is the world’s first single-molecule biostimulant with a scientifically proven effect. It competes with other biostimulants which are mix/extracts/microorganisms with limited effect.
Timing: The EU’s revised Directive on Fertilising Products (2019) will allow biostimulants to obtain CE marking in 2022.
Progress: Fyteko has invented and patented Nurspray, produced demonstration batches at scale, proven effectiveness in 170+ tests, and won numerous awards. Trial contracts to treat fields in Latin American and Africa are already signed.
Sales: End-users are farmers, reached through distributors, agrochemical partners and seed companies.
Market: Agrochemicals are worth €5B annually. Biostimulants will disrupt this, as farmers are seeking non-chemical solutions for crop stress management.
Project: Fyteko will improve its formulations; upscale its production process; conduct field trials in eight EU countries (data generation); secure CE Marking; and prepare for European market launch in 2022-2023.
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
1070 Anderlecht
Belgium
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.