Agreement with MANA Crop Protection

RNS Number : 8962A

Plant Health Care PLC

05 April 2012

 



5 APRIL, 2012

Plant Health Care plc

("Plant Health Care" or "the Company")

PLANT HEALTH CARE ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT

WITH MANA CROP PROTECTION

Plant Health Care (AIM: PHC), a leading provider of naturally derived products to the agriculture industry, announces that it has signed an agreement with MANA Crop Protection (MANA), to combine PHC's dry formulated Harpin αβ protein technology for use as a foliar spray in corn, soybeans, and dry beans with select MANA technologies in the USA.  In 2012, MANA and PHC will test market combinations of PHC's yield-enhancing Harpin protein technology with MANA's Bumper^® and Incognito^® foliar fungicides.  This program follows the same model that will result in an estimated three million acres of soybeans being treated with Harpin seed treatment in 2012.  Financial terms of the agreement are confidential.

In 2011, the US-foliar corn fungicide market exceeded $135 Million in grower value.  More than 80% of expenditures were strobilurin-based fungicides, yet the crop protection industry's Fungicide Resistance Action Committee has classified strobilurin fungicides as high risk for developing fungal resistance.  The use of Harpin protein in combination with non-strobilurin-based fungicides mitigates the development of strobilurin-based fungicide resistance, and represents a new opportunity to be an effective replacement in situations where popular strobilurin-based fungicides may no longer be effective.

In direct comparison across multiple, commercial-scale farm trials that were set-up and managed by the Iowa Soybean Association's On-Farm Network in 2011, a harpin-propiconazole combination produced higher average yields than the market-leading strobilurin-based fungicides.  These foliar Harpin/fungicide on-farm trials are consistent with 3 years of PHC-managed replicated evaluations in which Harpin recorded higher yields and a higher percentage of wins than the non-Harpin treated comparison blocks.

According to John Brady, CEO, PHC, "We're very excited to work with a company of the caliber of MANA Crop Protection. The three years of field results achieved in corn with Harpin plus fungicides led to our test marketing agreement with MANA, and validates our beliefs that Harpin can be used effectively to improve the performance of foliar fungicides in these crops.  Makhteshim Agan Industries, MANA's parent company, is the largest manufacturer and seller of post-patent crop protection chemicals in the world and we are discussing additional opportunities and crop segments to combine MANA technologies, such as the fungicide thiophanate methyl, with our Harpin technology.

"MANA Crop Protection's leading goal is to provide producers with high-value, innovative products that improve their bottom line while encouraging them to adopt technologies that manage resistance," said Keith Miller, MANA's Innovation Product Leader.  "We believe PHC's Harpin, in combination with proven fungicides like Bumper^® or Incognito^®, will meet both objectives."

- ENDS -

About Plant Health Care plc: Plant Health Care plc ("PHC") is a leading provider of naturally derived products for plants and soil. Established in 1995 in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) in the United States, PHC currently has approximately 90 employees and has operations in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. The Company's ordinary shares have been quoted on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange since July 2004 and listed on the Official List of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange ("CISX") in February 2010 (ticker symbol/ mnemonic: PHC).

PHC's products are aimed at agriculture industries and are environmentally beneficial. Through the commercialisation of these products, PHC is capitalising on current long-term trends toward natural systems and biological products for plant care and soil and water management. Further information is available at: www.planthealthcare.com.

For further information, please contact:

Plant Health Care plc
John Brady, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Powerscourt
Nick Dibden / Victoria Ward
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail] [e-mail]

About MANA Crop Protection:  MANA offers the most comprehensive and diversified product portfolio in the crop protection industry, with more than 60 formulations of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, and harvest aids. These proven products are efficiently manufactured to the highest standards and value priced to optimize the farm's profitability potential. As the North American arm of the world's seventh largest agrochemical company, MANA provides best-in-class formulations, regulatory capabilities, field research, and a science-based approach to defend and maintain vital active ingredients that other companies have abandoned. Our area business management team throughout the U.S. supports the distributors, retailers, crop consultants and agronomists who are part of the supply chain that farmers and farm managers rely on for localized expertise. MANA is a North American wholly owned affiliate of Makhteshim-Agan Industries, Ltd (MAI). Additional information about MANA can be found online at www.manainc.com.

About Makhteshim Agan:  Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd helps farmers around the world to increase the yield of their crops through the production and distribution of crop protection solutions. In 2010, its sales reached USD 2.368 billion and it was ranked seventh in the global agrochemical industry and fourth in Europe, with a global market share of more than 5 percent. The Company is known for its extensive knowledge and experience, outstanding technological and engineering abilities, expertise in product registration, compliance with stringent environmental protection standards, strict quality control, and global marketing and distribution channels.

Corporate Contact

Keith Miller

Innovation Product Leader

MANA Crop Protection

Office:

 [phone]Email: [e-mail]

Public Relations Agency Contact

Lisa Adams

Public Relations Lead

Sage Virtual Communications

Mobile: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

 

END

 

 

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