In November 2023, Wharf42 was delighted to announce the launch of Platform10 with our partners, Western Growers, at the Organic Growers Summit in Monterey.

Platform10 is an international, multi-year collaboration that will accelerate promising biopesticide companies, rigorously assess products, enhance grower confidence, and facilitate market development and adoption. Platform10 is being developed by Western Growers and New Zealand-based Wharf42.

 Growers are up against mounting pest and disease challenges due to climate change, reduced efficacy, and diminishing availability of traditional pest control tools. The specialty crop industry in particular requires new crop input technologies due to governmental regulations and consumer demands. Bio-based and novel pest control options to address existing and anticipated gaps in pest management are sorely needed to ensure that our growers are properly equipped with the tools to address these challenges.

 This new model to assess and accelerate biopesticide and bio-based pest control tools is intended to improve grower confidence and understanding for how to use biological products. Rigorous standards of efficacy including knockdown, crop damage, and increased yield/quality potential will be assessed. Additionally, effects on nontarget organisms and soil health, replacement potential for traditional chemical pesticides, and appropriate application rate/use pattern will be considered. This program will work with product companies to design protocols, developed to assess how the product works when incorporated into a more integrated, ecologically based farming system.

Learn more at www.platform10.ag