Dec 4, 2009

Bayer Agrees to Distribute Serenade

Bayer Environmental Science and AgraQuest have entered into a supply agreement for Serenade fungicide in the U.S. home and garden market, according to Marcus Meadows-Smith, AgraQuest’s CEO.

The announcement came on top of AgraQuest’s partnership with BASF last spring, which allows BASF to distribute existing Serenade products for foliar and drench applications in agricultural crops in countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

According to AgraQuest, the manufacturer, Serenade is an effective fungicide and bactericide that is exempt from residue tolerances. The patented active ingredient in Serenade, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713, is registered as a fungicide in 25 countries and has obtained Annex 1 listing in the European Union.

Bayer will launch the AgraQuest product into the U.S. home and garden market in 2010.

AgraQuest will introduce another Serenade product next year, for in-furrow planting applications, based on field trials and grower demonstrations showing disease control and yield enhancement. That product doesn’t have a name yet, according to the company.

AgraQuest, based in Davis, Calif., used to focus on the organic sector, but in the last few years the company has transformed into a solution provider for conventional growers as well. Older, more toxic chemicals are falling out of favor around the world; AgraQuest products, in tank mixes or spray programs with safe synthetic pesticides, are ideally situated to meet the new lower-residue expectations, according to Meadows-Smith.