Messenger promises benefits to world agriculture

Eden Bioscience has introduced a completely new class of crop production and plant protection technology. This technology will be offered via Messenger, the first product that offers growers a novel, effective and environmentally tool for plant disease management; plant growth enhancement; and insect, mite and nematode suppression.

The active ingredient in Messenger is harpin, a naturally occurring protein produced by bacteria commonly found in the environment. When Messenger is applied to a plant, harpin protein binds to the plant’s receptors. Upon binding, The Messenger treated plant initiates a set of complex signaling pathways, causing natural gene expression and activating the plant’s natural defense and growth systems.

Messenger activates these insects and defense pathways before the plant is under attack. Once activated, a plant is better able to naturally protect itself against a broad spectrum of bacteria, viruses and fungi, plus repel, suppress or tolerate certain insects, mites and nematodes. In addition, these plant pathways enhance plant vigour and stress tolerance, and increase nutrient uptake and photosynthesis within the plant, generating higher yield and improved food quality.

While the Environmental protection agency (EPA) classifies Messenger as a biochemical pesticide, the product does not directly kill anything. Instead, Messenger simply sends a "message" to the plant to protect itself. Messenger has been found to be virtually non-toxic to mammals, birds, honeybees, plants and aquatic species. Because of this negligible toxicity, even Messenger’s packaging requires no special treatment - no triple rinsing or recycling – and can be disposed of with a grower’s normal refuse. It leaves no detectable residue on crops or in water – even immediately after application – and is rendered inactive by natural sunlight and microbes. Messenger rapidly degrades in the environment, and also there is no ground or surface water contamination. An additional environment benefit is that messenger is applied at an extremely low use rate.

Messenger does not disrupt the natural or introduced populations of beneficial predators and parasites. It is also an ideal product for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes.

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