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Contact: Jake Mortensen, 530-750-0150 x 114, jmortensen@agraquest.com
Contact: John Francis, 800-877-9443 x 305, jfrancis@bioworksinc.com
AgraQuest Inc. Builds Ornamental Partnership with BioWorks Inc.
Active ingredient in AgraQuest’s RHAPSODY® fungicide to be rebranded as CEASE™ for U.S. ornamental market
DAVIS, Calif. (Mar. 5, 2008) – AgraQuest Inc., a leading provider of effective and safe pest management products, announced today that it has entered a strategic alliance with BioWorks Inc. to distribute the active ingredient, Bacillus subtilis, QST 713 strain, in the ornamental and greenhouse markets. BioWorks will rebrand the product under the name CEASE™ beginning in early March.
"The agreement between AgraQuest and BioWorks will ultimately better serve those growers who have used RHAPSODY for ornamental and greenhouse purposes," said Chris Coombs, V.P. North America for AgraQuest. "BioWorks’ expertise and experience in the ornamental and greenhouse markets positions them as a superior support provider for this active ingredient."
CEASE, labeled as both a foliar spray and soil drench on ornamentals, trees, shrubs, flowering plants, and greenhouse crops, is a broad spectrum biofungicide targeting common fungal and bacterial diseases such as Botrytis, Pseudomonas, Erwinia, Powdery and Downy Mildew, Leaf Spot and Speck, Anthracnose, and Rust.
"With CEASE we bring a proven Bacillus-based product to the ornamental and greenhouse markets," said John Francis, Director of Marketing and Technical Services for BioWorks. "CEASE will be a strong addition to our plant health and disease control portfolio."
CEASE has a zero-day pre-harvest interval and a four-hour restricted entry interval providing growers minimal interruption following sprays. Bacillus subtilis, QST 713 strain has been sold under the RHAPSODY brand in the U.S. ornamental market since its introduction in 2003.
AgraQuest will continue to produce and market RHAPSODY for the turf market, where the product is strongly positioned as a broad spectrum fungicide and tank mix partner, ideal for reducing chemical load as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.
About AgraQuest
AgraQuest is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing effective, safe and environmentally friendly natural pest management products for agricultural, institutional and home markets. The company sells SERENADE®, SERENADE® Garden, RHAPSODY®, SONATA® and BALLAD® fungicides. AgraQuest received the Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the EPA for the discovery and commercialization of SERENADE Biofungicide. In 2004, AgraQuest received a Red Herring Top 100 Private Company Award and the World Technology Award for the Environment. The company's headquarters are located in Davis, California.
About BioWorks
BioWorks, Inc., a privately held company, provides environmentally responsible, safe and cost-effective solutions to the Horticulture industry. BioWorks products include PlantShield HC®, RootShield® Granules, NemaShield, MilStop®, BotaniGard®, Mycotrol O® and TriCon®. BioWorks is a founding member of the BioPesticide Industry Alliance.
Certain matters contained in the press release concerning AgraQuest, Inc. are forward-looking statements which are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the receipt of EPA and other regulatory approval of the Company’s products, the success of the Company’s products in field trials and the timely development, manufacture and marketing and acceptance of the Company’s products in the marketplace.