Arkion Gets US Section 18 Approval For Corn Seed Treatment
29 January 2007 Each day after planting, a single crane can destroy enough young corn plants to decrease yield by 3-1/2 bushels, according to a company release published by PRNewswire. Over the six weeks of feeding opportunity in the spring, this amounts to almost 150 bushels of corn per bird, unless a practical solution is used. According to Ken Ballinger, vice president for Arkion Life Sciences, Arkion was given the unusual Emergency Exemption last spring to give farmers in the upper Midwest an effective way to protect their corn with a non-toxic seed treatment. A new liquid formulation of the product is available to pre-treat the seed prior to planting to protect the corn crop without any harm to cranes.
Michael Braverman of the IR-4 Project at Rutgers University continues to organize meetings with the USEPA to discuss the risk assessment and registration of Avitec. IR-4 is conducting residue trials to insure the bird repellent is not found in the harvested crop or in the plant tissue. Jeb Barzen, Wildlife Biologist for the International Crane Foundation, continues to oversee the collaboration between the EPA, various governmental agencies in the three states, four grower organizations and several non-profit conservation organizations involved in the launch of this solution to a growing agricultural problem. “The International Crane Foundation is on the forefront of solving crane conflict situations with agriculture while protecting cranes in their natural habitat.”
Arkion Life Sciences, based in Wilmington, Delaware, is a technology-based company involved in the discovery, development, and marketing of environmentally friendly, natural, or nature-identical bioactive compounds. The company has over 550 patents and patent applications worldwide around these technologies, and employs biotechnology to capitalize on new opportunities in the dietary supplement, pharmaceutical, animal health, and agricultural markets.
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