REHOVOT, Israel, Nov. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grace Breeding Ltd. (TASE: GRAC), a forward-thinking agrotech company developing biological-based products to improve crop yield and vigor for farmers and distributors, today announced a strategic research and development collaboration with the University of Londrina (UEL), based in Paraná State, Brazil. The collaboration will allow the University to evaluate Grace Breeding’s Nitrogenous Technology (NFT), the Company’s proprietary plant-based formula biofertilizer. NFT is being developed to improve absorption of nutrients from the soil as well as increases the efficiency of nitrogenous feeding, allowing farmers to significantly reduce their dependence on synthetic fertilizer.
The state of Paraná, where the UEL is located, is a major region involved in the global agricultural production of key grain and legume staples, most notably of corn and soybeans. The University is, therefore, conducting supportive testing evaluating both seedlings with Grace Breeding’s NFT, an environmentally friendly alternative to urea, the typical component in synthetic fertilizer.
“We are proud to partner with both the University of Londrina, a top 10 University in Brazil, as well as Gaia AgroSolutions, our cooperative partner in Brazil, to validate the benefits of our Nitrogenous Technology in this key region for agricultural production,” remarked Assaf Dotan, Chief Executive Officer of Grace Breeding. “The partnership between Grace Breeding and Gaia AgroSolutions serves as a model for other companies both in the region and globally to validate their technologies at UEL, especially with the stress caused by recent climate change. This cooperation between the public and private sectors on a mission to improve crop yield without harming the environment is an alliance that will also benefit society by providing a sustainable agribusiness solution to farmers as well.”
Interim Test Results
The trials and development at the University of Londrina are being led by Professor Juliano Tadeu Vilela de Resende Ph.D. with Professor Admilton Gonçalves de Oliveira, Jr. Ph.D. and conducted at the UEL’s Seed Analysis Laboratory in collaboration with development cooperator Gaia AgroSolutions, also based in Brazil.
Thus far, interim results have shown marked improvements in crop vigor for both corn and soybean seeds with the use of Grace Breeding’s NFT. The interim results also found that Grace Breeding’s NFT allowed for greater absorption of water and nutrients as well as the extension of key growth parameters in the germination process of soybean and maize seeds. Further, use of its NFT did not interfere with the seed germination process, thereby ensuring its germination.
Mr. Dotan continued, “We are very pleased to know of the positive results from the first interim analysis of this study, showing the potential benefit of using our NFT to increase the production of Brazil’s two leading crops - corn and soybean. Corn, or maize, is consistently a top crop produced in Brazil, and Brazil is the third producer behind key agricultural territories, the U.S. and China1. Therefore, our partnership is paramount, and this study is a crucial one to determine if our technology can provide plant enhancement, as well as a means to augment corn crop production in Brazil.”
Professor, Juliano Vilela de Resende, Ph.D. of the Agronomy Department at Universidade Estadual de Londrina, commented, “The NFT technology from Grace Breeding has so far presented interesting results. The germination tests showed significant effects on the increase of root mass, characterizing the bio stimulant effects coming from NFT. In addition to the increased root mass in corn and soybean, greater development of stem structures was also observed in both corn and soybean. Using Leonard's Pots Tests, it was found that treatments that contained the technology germinated in a shorter time. In the agronomic context, considering the partial results obtained so far, it can be inferred that the technology can promote important results as a potentiator of N[itrogen]-fixing microorganisms.”
Rosemarie Rodrigues, Ph.D., Agronomist and Director at Gaia AgroSolutions, added, “The need for a urea replacement in fertilizer holds a very promising forecast for Grace’s NFT technology. Preliminary results already indicate a great future for this technology for grain crops in Brazil."
About the University of Londrina
The State University of Londrina (UEL) was founded in 1970 and officially recognized as a state funded university in 1971, as a result of the merge of the existing colleges of Languages, Law, Philosophy, and Dentistry. Its location was defined to a 235 hectares campus, just outside of the city center. UEL’s mission is to produce and disseminate knowledge, by educating citizens and professionals in various academic fields within the ethical values of freedom, equality, and social justice. The University has grown considerably and is currently considered one of the top five ranked state Universities of the country.
About Gaia AgroSolutions
Gaia AgroSolutions is a modern Brazilian company that focuses on developing, recording and validating disruptive, sustainable technologies with low environmental impact for Brazilian agribusinesses. All the company’s products undergo rigorous testing and validation on experimental farms before being marketed.
About Grace Breeding
Grace Breeding is an agrotech company focused on developing products that are biologically based and provide efficient and natural solutions for farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding aims to disrupt crop and animal agriculture – including, soil microbiome, crop fertilization, and climate stress relief– by offering innovative products and solutions that reduce the environmental damage caused by synthetic fertilizers. Grace Breeding has an R&D center in Israel and in parallel the company is developing its products with several leading research and development centers around the world.
References
1 https://www.world-grain.com/articles/17194-brazil-on-pace-for-record-corn-production-exports
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning our business operations and future plans. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, he preliminary nature of the Company's business operations, the dependency on the success of future filed trials, the regulatory environment, the Company's financial position and other risk factors. For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please refer to our most recent annual report. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein.
Contacts
Investors
Thomas Shumaker
LifeSci Advisors
LLC1-917-929-7600
Media
Lea Berdugo
ReBlonde Public Relations
lea@reblonde.com
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