STK has launched the world ’ s first hybrid foliar fungicide . We spoke with the firm ’ s VP of sales
With the launch of Regev – the name means ‘ clump of land ’ in Hebrew – STK of Petah Tikva in Israel believes that it has a product that represents the future of sustainable crop protection , especially for high value crops . Regev is the first hybrid foliar fungicide . While many products combine two or more chemical active ingredients or biologicals , nothing else has both . Regev grew out of Timorex ACT , a botanical fungicide that STK – then known as Stockton - launched in 2013 . This is based on tea tree oil ( TTO ) extracted by steam distillation of Melaleuca alternifolia leaves . It was developed for a broad spectrum of plant-pathogenic fungi in many different crops . Over time , Timorex ACT became the most widely used biofungicide for bananas in Latin America . It is used with vegetables , herbs , grapevines , bananas , rice , coffee and tree fruit in over 30 countries , and is now approved for use in China and most US states . However , says Yair Nativ , VP of sales , achieving market penetration was more difficult than expected . “ The perception of biologics in the conventional market is to assume automatically that they don ’ t work or that they are inferior to chemistry .” The vast majority of growers around the world have never tried a biological of any sort for various reasons . They may not understand the science or have the time to learn it ; they do not want
Regev is based on tea trea oil
28 ESTABLISHED 1981