Sustainable Podcast: Dr. Brendon Neumann of Andermatt on Biologicals and Resistance Management
3 June 2026 In this Sustainable podcast episode by AgriBusiness Global, Dr. Brendon Neumann, Andermatt Product Portfolio Director, discusses how biologicals fit into resistance management, how companies can educate their grower customers on this strategy, and more.
*This is an edited and partial transcript
AgriBusiness Global: Can you discuss the importance of resistance management and why resistance to traditional chemistries has risen?
Brendon Neumann: It takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money for chemical companies to develop new active ingredients, and as a result, there aren’t a lot of new active ingredients coming to the market, so it’s really important to protect what is available.
The reason why resistance has developed in the past is largely due to the fact that a lot of the chemical products work by a single mode of action, and they very often target a single site within the target organism. So, this means that very simple mutations in the target organism can result in the development of resistance, which is then just further enhanced over time because that resistant individual has an advantage to survive and reproduce.
ABG: Building on that, can you talk about how biologicals fit into resistance management strategies, and how those products really work to help reduce the risk of resistance?
BN: What’s quite often different between the biological products and chemical products is that a lot of the biological products can work using multiple modes of action. So, resistance is less likely to develop to those products as a result. The modes of action that biologicals employ are also very different from the modes of action of chemical products, so by integrating the two into a program, or into a tank mix, you provide other options that can eliminate any resistant individuals that are developing in the population.
ABG: In your experience, is there a specific crop segment or region where you see biologicals having the greatest impact in resistance management?
BN: It’s crops that are intensively sprayed, so things like greenhouse vegetables, for example, and some of the orchard crops where you’re getting spray applications being done weekly or twice a week. That’s just creating a lot more pressure for the development of resistance, so the inclusion of the biologicals can really play a good role, both in terms of resistance management and reducing chemical residues on the crop.
ABG: Can you talk about some of the main barriers that prevent growers from using biologicals for resistance management?
BN: It comes down to grower education. A lot of the biology isn’t necessarily as well understood as some of the chemical products that the growers have been working with for many years. They know where to apply them, how to apply them, and what sort of results they’re going to get. We don’t always have the same level of understanding for the biological products.
ABG: Do you have any specific examples of how companies can educate growers on the best way to incorporate biologicals into resistance management programs?
BN: It’s a slow process. I don’t think there are any shortcuts to it. It’s really just getting out there and interacting with growers, sometimes directly and sometimes through distributors, but having that technical support in the field.
Some of it can be achieved through traditional media as well, and I think in the future something like AI might play a big role, where you can have chatbots making recommendations and making information more widely available to growers.
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