Insects provide the base of the food chain and numerous ecological services, such as pollination, predation and parasitation of insects, as well as organic matter decomposition. It is estimated that the global insect population has declined by up to 80% within the past 30 to 40 years, which poses a massive threat to biodiversity.
This decline is partly due to the use of pesticides used to protect agricultural crops from pests, diseases, and weeds. Pesticides can also cause detrimental effects to the environment, soil, and groundwater, contaminating these and spread into the broader ecosystem and the human food chain. Provivi a leading biotechnology company based in Santa Monica, California, develops a family of environmentally friendly, effective, and economical pheromone-based solutions for crop protection. Pheromones are the basis of the oldest language on the planet. Insects particularly, have been using them for communicating for millions of years. One special function of this communication is for insects to locate each other and mate. Since each insect species has unique pheromones for this purpose, Provivi’s products are designed to target the mating behavior of specific species and work by saturating an environment with pheromones identical to those released by female insects, drowning their scent, rendering male insects unable to find the females. Thus, mating is prevented, and the insect pest cannot reproduce, and potential damage to the crop is reduced. Additionally, being species-specific, this technology, apart from not killing the target insects, has no effect on other species. Therefore, this non-toxic mode of action helps ensure that the ecosystem is both unaffected by its own application and by reducing the need for insecticide applications.
Co-founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Frances Arnold, Provivi has been systematically developing technologies that have enabled the company to launch biological pheromone-based products in the biggest agriculture markets, the staple crops of rice, corn, and cotton that provide food and clothing to the world. With a reduction in the number of crop-destroying insects, farmers can benefit from improved yields and revenue. Provivi does not just sell the physical product but provides support for the installation and monitoring of the product. The data gathered from the monitoring allows the farmer to observe the product performance and assess whether adjustments need to be made to better utilize the product.
Provivi can produce pheromones at a large scale and with reduced costs due to its use of proprietary biocatalysts and low-cost raw materials which are needed to synthesize pheromones and increase process yields. The long-established high-cost barrier to the adoption of insect sex pheromones in broadacre crops is being challenged by Provivi’s ability to produce affordable pheromone-based products fitting such crops.
Pesticides will still be needed in agriculture, but work is required to reduce dependence on their use and for more sustainable solutions, which champion biodiversity, to be brought forward to market. Provivi is a pioneer in this sector and leading the way for other companies also seeing the opportunity in biological pheromone-based products as an alternative to pesticides.
Insects provide the base of the food chain and numerous ecological services, such as pollination, predation and parasitation of insects, as well as organic matter decomposition. It is estimated that the global insect population has declined by up to 80% within the past 30 to 40 years, which poses a massive threat to biodiversity.
This decline is partly due to the use of pesticides used to protect agricultural crops from pests, diseases, and weeds. Pesticides can also cause detrimental effects to the environment, soil, and groundwater, contaminating these and spread into the broader ecosystem and the human food chain. Provivi a leading biotechnology company based in Santa Monica, California, develops a family of environmentally friendly, effective, and economical pheromone-based solutions for crop protection. Pheromones are the basis of the oldest language on the planet. Insects particularly, have been using them for communicating for millions of years. One special function of this communication is for insects to locate each other and mate. Since each insect species has unique pheromones for this purpose, Provivi’s products are designed to target the mating behavior of specific species and work by saturating an environment with pheromones identical to those released by female insects, drowning their scent, rendering male insects unable to find the females. Thus, mating is prevented, and the insect pest cannot reproduce, and potential damage to the crop is reduced. Additionally, being species-specific, this technology, apart from not killing the target insects, has no effect on other species. Therefore, this non-toxic mode of action helps ensure that the ecosystem is both unaffected by its own application and by reducing the need for insecticide applications.
Co-founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Frances Arnold, Provivi has been systematically developing technologies that have enabled the company to launch biological pheromone-based products in the biggest agriculture markets, the staple crops of rice, corn, and cotton that provide food and clothing to the world. With a reduction in the number of crop-destroying insects, farmers can benefit from improved yields and revenue. Provivi does not just sell the physical product but provides support for the installation and monitoring of the product. The data gathered from the monitoring allows the farmer to observe the product performance and assess whether adjustments need to be made to better utilize the product.
Provivi can produce pheromones at a large scale and with reduced costs due to its use of proprietary biocatalysts and low-cost raw materials which are needed to synthesize pheromones and increase process yields. The long-established high-cost barrier to the adoption of insect sex pheromones in broadacre crops is being challenged by Provivi’s ability to produce affordable pheromone-based products fitting such crops.
Pesticides will still be needed in agriculture, but work is required to reduce dependence on their use and for more sustainable solutions, which champion biodiversity, to be brought forward to market. Provivi is a pioneer in this sector and leading the way for other companies also seeing the opportunity in biological pheromone-based products as an alternative to pesticides.
Insects provide the base of the food chain and numerous ecological services, such as pollination, predation and parasitation of insects, as well as organic matter decomposition. It is estimated that the global insect population has declined by up to 80% within the past 30 to 40 years, which poses a massive threat to biodiversity.
This decline is partly due to the use of pesticides used to protect agricultural crops from pests, diseases, and weeds. Pesticides can also cause detrimental effects to the environment, soil, and groundwater, contaminating these and spread into the broader ecosystem and the human food chain. Provivi a leading biotechnology company based in Santa Monica, California, develops a family of environmentally friendly, effective, and economical pheromone-based solutions for crop protection. Pheromones are the basis of the oldest language on the planet. Insects particularly, have been using them for communicating for millions of years. One special function of this communication is for insects to locate each other and mate. Since each insect species has unique pheromones for this purpose, Provivi’s products are designed to target the mating behavior of specific species and work by saturating an environment with pheromones identical to those released by female insects, drowning their scent, rendering male insects unable to find the females. Thus, mating is prevented, and the insect pest cannot reproduce, and potential damage to the crop is reduced. Additionally, being species-specific, this technology, apart from not killing the target insects, has no effect on other species. Therefore, this non-toxic mode of action helps ensure that the ecosystem is both unaffected by its own application and by reducing the need for insecticide applications.
Co-founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Frances Arnold, Provivi has been systematically developing technologies that have enabled the company to launch biological pheromone-based products in the biggest agriculture markets, the staple crops of rice, corn, and cotton that provide food and clothing to the world. With a reduction in the number of crop-destroying insects, farmers can benefit from improved yields and revenue. Provivi does not just sell the physical product but provides support for the installation and monitoring of the product. The data gathered from the monitoring allows the farmer to observe the product performance and assess whether adjustments need to be made to better utilize the product.
Provivi can produce pheromones at a large scale and with reduced costs due to its use of proprietary biocatalysts and low-cost raw materials which are needed to synthesize pheromones and increase process yields. The long-established high-cost barrier to the adoption of insect sex pheromones in broadacre crops is being challenged by Provivi’s ability to produce affordable pheromone-based products fitting such crops.
Pesticides will still be needed in agriculture, but work is required to reduce dependence on their use and for more sustainable solutions, which champion biodiversity, to be brought forward to market. Provivi is a pioneer in this sector and leading the way for other companies also seeing the opportunity in biological pheromone-based products as an alternative to pesticides.