MONTREAL - Imaflex Inc. ("Imaflex" or the "Corporation") (TSXV: IFX), announces positive independent trial results from the first harvest comparing tomato production with ADVASEAL® to the current grower standard for fresh tomato production in Florida with fumigants.
"The first of three expected harvests by the independent grower is confirming the benefits ADVASEAL® can offer farmers worldwide," highlighted Mr. Joe Abbandonato, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imaflex. "Not only are we seeing fewer days to maturity with ADVASEAL®, but more and larger tomatoes of prime quality, compared to the grower reference." Collectively, this translates into earlier, higher marketable yields and in turn better profits for growers. Typically, supply and demand determine the general price level for tomatoes. Consequently, those growers first to market usually get the highest prices, while larger tomatoes also normally bring a premium.
Lower weed counts also confirmed ADVASEAL's® efficacy in controlling noxious, invasive weeds like nutsedge, often called the "world's worst" weed as it can drastically reduce yields in vegetable plants and many other crops. Only a few scattered nutsedge plants were counted on all ADVASEAL® treatments, versus frequent patchy nutsedge breakthroughs on the grower reference. "ADVASEAL's® use could be justified alone by the tangible financial and environmental advantages it offers growers," said Mr. Abbandonato. This includes more than a 95% decrease in fumigant usage, a significant reduction in the associated application time, no volatile pesticide drift and consequently likely no buffer zone restrictions compared to the current grower standard. "The advantages it appears to be bringing in heightened marketable yields is an additional notable benefit."
As a reminder, the tomato was chosen as a model crop for the trial, because it is one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world. Furthermore, if ADVASEAL® delivers high yields in tomato production, it can likely be used to produce high yields for many other fruits and vegetables that require pre-plant fumigation for soil disinfestation. Complete trial results, for the ADVASEAL® treatment and grower reference will be released once the independent report is available after the growing season is complete.
Source : Cision