Preventing the Effects of Climate Change: EliTerra®, a Technological Platform Dedicated to Biosolutions That Reduce the Water Needs of Field Crops

Elicit Plant announces the acceleration of its scientific developments and its product roadmap by presenting the one and only technological platform that offers biosolutions to help prevent climatic risks for field crops by reducing their water consumption by up to 20%.

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On the occasion of its participation in the ChangeNOW Summit, the event for solutions for the planet that takes place from May 25 to 27, 2023 in Paris, Elicit Plant unveils EliTerra®, its technological platform and associated products that allow crops to adapt to climate change, particularly to drought. This is a world first that will boost the marketing of new Elicit Plant BioSolutions with a favorable environmental profile, following on from the success of its first product, BEST-a, which enables corn to consume up to 20% less water.
"This type of solution is particularly expected by the agricultural sector at a global level, in the context of climate change," adds Francesc Llaurado of Lainco Agro, an agronomist expert in the Mediterranean basin, "As a Spaniard, I am particularly affected by what is happening in my country, but it is the entire global agricultural sector that must consider adapting practices to the agro-ecological transition and better preservation of resources and agricultural yields with the rapid adoption of innovative solutions to counteract the impact of climate change, especially on field crops. »

The EliTerra® technology platform is the result of Elicit Plant's research on phytosterols, which has shown that these plant sterols are essential for stress resistance in row crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, etc.). The process of discovery and validation by Elicit Plant's laboratories and its scientific partners has enabled the identification of new formulations composed of different phytosterols to specifically and effectively fight against the impact of climate change on several major crops. The resulting product roadmap will be announced in the various countries targeted in Europe, Brazil, and North America where marketing authorization applications are underway.

Benoit Poinssot, Research Professor at the UMR Agroecology (INRAE, University of Burgundy, Institut Agro Dijon), explains: "There is not one but many phytosterols. In nature, there are more than 200 of them, each of which is stress-specific and species-specific. Phytosterols are therefore not a universal generic solution and their level of performance on crops depends on their diversity but also on their combination and of course on the formulation. The EliTerra® platform therefore offers very significant potential for product development. »

These natural and sustainable solutions are part of the dynamic of helping agriculture meet the challenge of feeding the world's population despite the effects of climate change.

Philippe Merle, Director of the Agriculture Division at the Océalia cooperative (New Aquitaine), says that "the impact of climate change on row crops is very strongly perceived by our members and the good performance of BEST-a Maize has encouraged very rapid adoption in our territory with more than 30% of our areas treated for water stress with this product in the second year. In 2023, we are testing two new prototypes of the EliTerra® Platform on wheat, barley and soybeans, with the aim of marketing them next season, and we have high ambitions for these new products. »

What are phytosterols?

Phytosterols are plant lipids. While animals only synthesize one cholesterol, plants produce a large number of them, which are also components of cell membranes. These molecules are part of the primary metabolism of living organisms and are therefore essential to their survival. Their presence in the membranes plays a central role in the regulation of their fluidity and thus their permeability. It is through these mechanisms that the 'signal' molecules carry information for a stimulation of the growth of the plant and/or an adapted response of the plants to the changes of the environmental conditions.

About Elicit Plant:

Elicit Plant is an agri-biotech company whose ambition is to become the champion of the ecological transition for agriculture and respond to the global challenges of the impact of climate change on row crops. EliTerra®, Elicit Plant's proprietary technology, is based on the exogenous contribution of phytosterols, a set of molecules of plant origin, which increases the resistance of plants to stress by eliciting their natural defenses. Large-scale field trials - more than 500 trials on 3 continents - have demonstrated that the biosolutions from the Eliterra® Platform are the only ones offering farmers a regular and sufficient return on investment for use on field crops, with an average yield gain of 12%. In 2022, Elicit Plant began marketing its BEST-a product line in France, particularly for corn crops, and has obtained marketing authorizations for Ukraine, Brazil and Europe. For more information: www.elicit-plant.com

More pictures on www.elicit-plant.com/en/espace-presse

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Contact information

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To go further
Claire Arnoux at Elicit Plant : c.arnoux@elicit-plant.com
Marianne Chalvet-Poullain at LaFactory : +33 (0) 7 84 08 17 46 – m.chalvet@gfa.fr