Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") is pleased to announce Rutgers University has successfully completed year 2 research trials on the efficacy of BVT's proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7), applied with bee vectoring technology to New Jersey blueberry crops during the 2022 growing season. Furthermore, the bee colony health was also assessed in year 2.
Both year 1 and year 2 trials were conducted by Rutgers University's Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center and PE Marucci Blueberry Cranberry Research & Extension Center, a leading, grower-trusted research center in the US Northeast. The 2022 trial further assessed the efficacy of the BVT system in controlling common fungal diseases and increasing yield of healthy berries after harvest, both critical measures of the timespan picked berries remain fresh.
"Growers and researchers alike are required to see multi-year data to confirm efficacy, and once again BVT produced fantastic results," said Dr. Mason Newark, Field Technical Manager at BVT. "Rutgers' year 2 trial results remain consistent with year 1, showing that the BVT system is equivalent for disease control, and sometimes better than a standard spray program using chemical fungicides that can be harmful to plants, soil, water, pollinators and workers in the fields."
Data was collected from established blueberry fields where BVT's biological fungicide CR-7 was bee vectored then compared to collected data from the same field beyond the vectored range where a grower standard program was applied. In the grower standard locations, some growers sprayed six applications of chemical fungicides while other sites received up to 12 applications of chemical fungicides.
When comparing results of the BVT honeybee system with CR-7 used alone to the grower standard process, year 2 results demonstrated:
- BVT's honeybee system and biofungicide kept 66% of harvested berries healthy and marketable after seven days of incubation, which is comparable to the grower standard's value of 64% under the same conditions.
- The BVT system alone was statistically equivalent to the grower standard in controlling Anthracnose disease infections postharvest.
- The BVT system alone outperformed the grower standard spray program in controlling Alternaria disease infections postharvest.
Marketable yield data is currently being analyzed by the Rutgers research team and will be available over the next 1-2 months.
"These results continue to indicate that the BVT technology concretely helps to consistently reduce fungal disease occurrence," said Chelsea Abegg, technician and PhD candidate at Rutgers University Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center.
"Growers like to see multiple years of field data, especially third-party research, prior to deploying a new system and these compelling results will assist in convincing prospective growers to join the program," said Ian Collinson, Sales Manager at BVT.
In the 2022 trial Rutgers also tracked and evaluated bee health. Trial results show that commercial honeybees being used with the BVT system were healthier than those in fields with a traditional fungicide spray program (the control group), including:
- Better weight increases: hives used with the BVT system had a significant increase in hive weight.
- Less brood reduction: hives used with the BVT system experienced significantly lower reductions in brood.
- Better colony health indices: hives used with the BVT system showed significantly better health (Health indices is a set of parameters beyond traditional weight and brood measurements).
These trial results are particularly notable because honeybees are pivotal to crop production, food security and the economy. Over the years, beekeepers and growers have experienced a significant increase in colony losses. Therefore, it is a significant benefit when hives are healthier after crop pollination.
"Certain commonly used fungicides cause neurological problems for bees," said Ms. Abegg. "These trial results are promising in that they demonstrate that the BVT system has less impact on bees than traditional spray programs. The hives were heavier at the end of season, with more brood coverage, and had a higher colony health index score as compared to hives without the BVT system installed."
"The results of the bee hive and health study by a skilled third-party at a leading research university once again has validated BVT's strong sustainability position in the critical field of pollination and bee health. New, proven approaches and natural plant protection products are an important part of preventing further colony loss - we need to do everything we can for these vital pollination partners," continued Dr. Newark.
About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite™ with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.
Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.
Company Contact:
Ashish Malik, President & CEO
info@beevt.com
Investor Contacts:
Babak Pedram (Canada & International)
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-995-8651
bpedram@virtusadvisory.com
William Maze (United States)
RB Milestone Group LLC (RBMG)
bee@rbmilestone.com
The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, "annual revenue potential", are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including: planted acres, selling price of competitive chemical pesticides and the US to Canadian dollar exchange rate. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. These factors include changes in law, competition, litigation, the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities, state of the capital markets, the availability of funds and resources to pursue operations, new technologies, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to obtain patent protection for products, third-party intellectual property infringement claims, regulatory changes affecting products, failing research and development activities, the ability to reach and sustain profitability, dependence on business and technical experts, the ability to effectively manage business operations and growth, issuance of debt, dilution of existing securities, volatility of publicly traded securities, potential conflicts of interest, unlikelihood of dividend payments, the potential costs stemming from defending third-party intellectual property infringement claims, the ability to secure relationships with manufacturers and purchasers, as well as general economic, market and business conditions, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Filing Statement dated August 14, 2020, filed with the CSE and securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. All figures are in Canadian dollars.
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