Leading Canadian technology company Bee Vectoring Technology (BVT) has received approval for its first active ingredient for application via bee vectoring. VECTORITETM contains the active Clonostachys rosea CR-7 - an antagonistic fungal biocontrol - for use as a fungicide on a range of crops including strawberries, sunflowers, apples and tomatoes.
BVT use commercially-reared bees to deliver VECTORITETM through the natural process of pollination. Specially built hives require the bees to walk through trays of the fungicide as they leave the hive, which attaches to the bee’s body in the same manner as pollen. As the bees pollinate the crop, they simultaneously deliver season-long targeted application of fungicide without any negative impact to bee health or livelihood.
BVT hopes to help growers improve crop health and yield, whilst reducing the fuel, water and labour costs of crop protection compared with conventional spraying techniques. The targeted application reduces typical chemical requirements of 2 kg per acre to approximately 5 g per acre, providing a more sustainable method of crop protection.
VECTORITETM will be commercially available for use in the USA this autumn, with BVT currently seeking regulatory approval in several other countries.