LEAMINGTON, Ont. — The dream of two Ontario entrepreneurs is beginning to bear fruit now that Syngenta has signed a technology use agreement.
The Crop Expansion Encapsulation and Drilling System (CEEDS), which was developed by Paul Carver and the late Dean Tiessen at New Energy Farms (NEF), allows material used for vegetative propagation to be treated like seed.
The agricultural giant plans to apply the planting system to the Brazilian sugar cane industry.
“The licence agreement with Syngenta creates a huge opportunity for both partners to introduce significant benefits to sugar cane growers and sugar and bio-ethanol producers in Brazil,” Carver said.
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“We have been working in perennial grass propagation for 20 years. Sugar cane is the largest market for these types of perennial grasses.… We hope this will assist other areas of our business where we have crops for fuel and fibre markets.”
NEF may be better known for its work with miscanthus. The perennial species has been touted as an alternative to natural gas for heating greenhouses and as a feedstock for biogas production, but it has not yet been able to fully compete in the North American marketplace.
Other projects include arundo donax and Napier grass.
The CEEDS technology involves a coating that may also contain insecticide and bio-stimulants. The vegetative pieces can be stored in a cold room for six months or longer, depending on the species.
The technology also allows for precise drilling and high density plantations. Miscanthus growers initially planted underground stems called rhizomes, which was a costly approach with mixed results. The later development of plug plants was an improvement but still expensive.
The artificial seed technology and other advances are expected to increase miscanthus yields to almost 100 percent of their potential in as little as two years.
Syngenta plans to incorporate CEEDS with its PLENE platform of integrated sugar cane solutions, according to a news release from the company. It will allow for a higher multiplication rate with lower costs per ton compared to conventional planting systems.
The target market is five million acres of sugar cane planted annually in Brazil. Commercialization is expected by 2017.
“This will make the planting process for growers more efficient and will bring them high quality genetic material at scale,” said Syngenta chief operation officer John Atkin.
“By multiplying in a controlled environment, we can eliminate field production uncertainties.”
