Exosect Secure Grant From The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture

Exosect awarded grant under the Dutch GENOEG Breed project.

(PRWEB) October 1, 2006 -- Exosect, a leading provider of environmentally conscious insect pest control, has announced that it is supported by the Genoeg Breed project and as part of that support, Genoeg-breed will provide up to €100,000 as 50 percent co-financing for additional research and/or registration costs. The grant has been awarded to Exosect to support a two-year programme of regulatory trials on Exosex CM, Exosect’s auto-confusion mating disruption product designed to control the population of Codling moth in apple and pear orchards. Exosex CM uses only 25 dispensers per hectare, releasing the equivalent of 1,000 times less pheromone into the atmosphere than competing mating disruption systems.

The GENEOG Breed project, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, has been set up to promote the increase in use of biological pest control products, as project coordinator at the GENOEG Breed project, Joris van Herk, explains, “Dutch growers already use biological pest control products, the next step is for growers to recognise the benefits of using products of natural origins as part of their integrated pest management strategy. The grant aims to assist Exosect in the registration of Exosex CM, we hope that by helping organisations such as Exosect we will be able to drive down registration costs in the future.”

Exosect’s innovative technology can reduce or even replace blanket crop spraying. Its special formulated powder (Entostat*) is based on a food grade powder, which sticks to an insect via electrostatic attraction. When combined with specific insect pheromones the target insect pest is used to deliver a disrupting effect amongst its own population and thus breaks down the mating cycle. This technology has already proven commercially viable in the UK, US and South Africa.

Managing Director at Exosect, Martin Brown, comments, “This grant is significant and will greatly assist us in securing the first registration of our Exosex product on mainland Europe. We expect a successful registration in Holland will be the first of many registrations across northern Europe.”

About Entostat powder

Entostat™ is a natural plant wax extract. It exhibits the same properties as the waxes found in pitcher plants. The binding properties that lead to the wide ranging applications under development by Exosect. The wax has been found to bind strongly to insect cuticle as it has the ability to hold an electrostatic charge. As insects fly through the air or move across physical surfaces, their cuticle similarly becomes charged. When charged insect cuticle and the powder come close together (e.g. within an Exosex™ Auto-Confusion dispenser), the wax will adhere to the insect cuticle.

About Exosect

Exosect Limited was formed in 2001 to commercialise patented innovative pest control technology. Focusing primarily on R&D, Exosect has developed a range of delivery systems based on the concept of attractants and active ingredients, including biologicals, formulated with patented powder carrier systems. Specialising in IPM based, environmentally acceptable pest control products, markets include crop protection (agriculture and horticulture), stored product, amenity landscape and public health. More on Exosect: www.exosect.com

Further information on Exosect -- including interviews, demonstrations, users stories and site visits -- is available from:

Lynsey Thorp

Exosect Press Office at MCC International Ltd

Tel: 01962 888 100 / Fax: 01962 888 125

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