Tech Protecting Crops
Corbet Scientific discovers and develops solutions to enhance crop production while limiting agriculture’s environmental impact. Its first product is a water-based agriculture adjuvant called Hydrovant. An adjuvant is a substance that increases the efficacy or potency of the pesticides or fertilizers with which it is combined.
Hydrovant is an Environmental Protection Agency-approved inert ingredient that is extremely rain fast. Hydrovant increases fertilizer or pesticide efficacy by sticking the active ingredient to the plant or soil keeping it where it belongs. For example, Hydrovant keeps a fertilizer or pesticide’s active ingredient on plant leaves or in the root zone of the soil after wetting events such as dew and rain. Hydrovant is non-toxic and it works with both contact pesticides and systemic pesticides (contact pesticides work by contacting the pest and system pesticides work when the plant absorbs the pesticide). As Hydrovant adheres the active agent to the leaf, it allows the plant time to absorb the pesticide into its system.
Glenn first discovered the technology when it was being used to help citrus greening in Florida. “Most groves had very little fruit on them but the adjacent groves using the product (now known as Hydrovant) had large & full grapefruits,” he says. “I knew the product worked in that moment. I then became a shareholder in the company and began testing the product in California. Receiving the first efficacy test was eye opening, and I knew this technology was unique.”
Hydrovant’s technology results in more efficient applications, higher efficacy, and a lower environmental impact.
“Getting new products adopted by the agricultural industry is a long process. The agricultural industry has a typical three-year sell cycle. The first year, you go through testing so that a grower/distributor will meet with you. The second year, your distributor will do his own testing with the product to see if it works in their region. The third year, the distributor gives the product to a grower to do his own testing to see if the product will work on their crops,” explains Glenn. “To get a grower to ultimately buy the product, you need to walk them through these steps and help them to see the benefits they receive by using Hydrovant. Fortunately for us we have never had a grower that disliked the material.”
With every new study, Glenn and his team find more doors opening. The “Corbet Chemistry” is unique because it adheres a substance to a surface. The product can also adhere an active ingredient to wood, stucco and stone, or to skin. “We have developed a soil-applied product and are in the process of rolling out an irrigation aid to help farmers use less water.” says Glenn. “We believe that Hydrovant’s rain-resistant quality and its ability to hold the active ingredient in place for a sustained period of time will allow us to focus on a number of other industries as well. This is a very unique technology that has applications in high-volume, low-margin industries, as well as low-volume, high-margin industries.” The technology is so unique that Corbet Scientific is obtaining patents in 38 countries and it currently has patents issued in the United States, Australia, Israel, Colombia and Ukraine.
Tests of Corbet Scientific’s adjuvant have yielded promising results.
A test at the Non-Radioactive Isotope lab at Cornell University showed that when Bifenthrin was sprayed on corn with Hydrovant and subjected to rainforest conditions,45% more Bifenthrin was on the leaf after 30 days.
When an insecticide with and without Hydrovant was applied to leaves, the leaf WITHOUT Hydrovant reduced the insects from 25 bugs per leaf to 19 bugs. The leaf WITH Hydrovant reduced the insects from 25 bugs per leaf to 4 bugs.
When Hydrovant was added to fertilizer in a drip irrigation system, the production of cucumbers rose from 22,000 pounds per acre to 43,000 pounds per acre.
A test in Argentina showed that using 50% of a weed killer with Hydrovant provided twice the weed control as compared to the weed killer alone.
Building Customer-Oriented Companies
Thalle Industries prioritizes consistency in responding to customers with thorough, holistic, expert guidance around all their needs. The goal is to provide value throughout the client’s project cycle so that Thalle customers can be more profitable and stay on schedule.
“We are Rockstars who provide Rockstar Service, Rockstar Response, and Rockstar Supply, which makes us Rockstar Heroes!” says Glenn, who coined these initiatives.
The Rockstar concept has four components:
