Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company focused on sustainably improving farmers’ crop yields, today announced the regulatory approval of its plant “priming” product by the state government of Mahashtra in India, an important step that will accelerate distribution throughout the region.
India produces large volumes of many staple crops – particularly soybean, wheat, rice, and various fruits and vegetables. The agriculture market of India, the world’s second most populous country, is worth an estimated $500 billion. However, the output of India’s farmers will be challenged to feed a growing population while under threat from climate change. New alternatives to traditional agricultural inputs are now needed to respond to these critical challenges.
Zero Gravity’s plant “priming” technology, a method of boosting plants’ natural defenses against threats, is validated by peer-reviewed research and increasingly adopted by farmers worldwide. Plant priming applies non-toxic agents to elicit stronger and speedier adjustments to stressors, similar to a vaccine’s effects on the human immune system. Field trials in India across soybean and papaya farms have shown primed plants with increased biomass and vigor, increased resistance to diseases, and increased crop yield as compared to untreated plants grown in the same conditions.
“The registration of our BAM-FX® product in India is an exciting development for growers in the region, allowing us to commercially offer our plant priming technology to farmers contending with extreme heat, variable precipitation, and related diseases,” said John McLean, Zero Gravity’s Chief Executive Officer. “India is an ever more important agricultural region that will be paramount in meeting the goal to feed a growing global population by sustainably protecting crop yields and farmer livelihoods.”
Zero Gravity is expanding commercial operations across Asia, North America, and Latin America backed by over eight years of field trials, across more than 30 vital crops. The company recently registered its plant priming product in Mexico and established new agreements with distribution partners in Brazil. Zero Gravity is also working on further approvals in India, including of its next generation “EliArmor” products, which will expand the use cases for its elicitor technology.
