Iranian Scientists Produce Plant-Based Fungicide without Environmental, Health Side Effects
“The aim of producing plant-based fungicide for greenhouses and agricultural products was to eliminate fungal contamination on ornamental leafy plants whose leaves are valuable, and plants whose propagation method is seed and whose seeds may be exposed to fungal contamination and can cause problem,” Parvaneh Zolfaqari, the managing-director of the company stationed at the incubator center of Islamic Azad University’s Gorgan Branch, told ANA.
“Different tests have been conducted on this fungicide which showed positive results. The research and development work has been completed and we are in the licensing stage so that we can settle some of the problems of farmers by mass-producing it,” she added.
“This fungicide has also been tested on ornamental plants because in greenhouses, plant seeds are exposed to fungus due to humidity, and the use of this fungicide has had a positive effect on these plants. It has also been tested on a number of vegetables and the results have been satisfactory,” Zolfaqari said.
In a relevant development in April, specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company had also succeeded in producing a plant probiotic fungicide fertilizer for agricultural industry which can replace several thousand tons of chemical fungicides.
“Fanavari Zisti Tabiatgara (Bayvaran) company is one of the two largest companies in the world in production of probiotics,” said Homayoun Moradi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“We operate in three areas of agricultural, livestock and poultry and human probiotics; our human probiotics are made up of two parts of medicine and food, and we have more than 60 knowledge-based products in each of these three areas,” he added.
“One of our products is a fungicidal fertilizer or a plant probiotic that is used in agriculture and can replace several thousand tons of chemical fungicides, which are both harmful to the health and the soil, and often do not work because of poor quality,” Moradi said.
He noted that the product contains a special formulation of two important plant probiotics, Bacillus velezensis and Trichoderma, adding that it is produced with the aim of improving the nutrition and growth of plants and reducing or managing the damage caused by pathogenic fungi in crops, gardens and greenhouses.
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