Grace Breeding Announces its Wide Defense System (WDS) Improves Industrial Tomato Yield by 17% Based on Field Trial Results

REHOVOT, Israel, Oct. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TASE: GRAC), a forward-thinking agrotech company developing biological-based products to improve crop yield and vigor for farmers and distributors, today announced the results of a field trial that found its proprietary Wide Defense System (WDS) biostimulant formula improves industrial tomato yield by an additional 17 percent. The field trial showed that the formula both boosted the growth of the tomato root system and improved the yield in amid harsh, arid weather conditions. Enhanced growth and improved nutrient absorption due to a larger root system are important components of the crop lifecycle since they result in improved yield and may extend shelf life for agricultural produce.

In the U.S., California is home to  of domestic tomatoes, most of which have suffered dehydration as a result of the water shortage from recent and ongoing droughts. Because of this, there is an expected mass shortage of tomato-based consumer products, including ketchup and spaghetti sauce. The shortage presents a threat of price increases for the tomato processing sector, with supply expected to decline by 6% by 2050 in key regions, per a study by Nature Food¹. Grace Breeding’s WDS formula addresses the supply problem for the farmer and the pricing threat to the consumer by improving tomato yield.

Assaf Dotan, Chief Executive Officer of Grace Breeding, commented, "Grace Breeding understands the economic and lifestyle stressors that a drought can cause both farmers and consumers, alike. Our aim with our proprietary WDS formula is to provide farmers with a higher yield of industrial tomatoes to help maximize their production cycles and mitigate distribution challenges resulting from drought conditions. The use of our WDS helps farmers boost growth for industrial tomatoes in different plots amid various climate stress conditions. The product has a simple and efficient once-per-season application via the irrigation system that adds an additional economic benefit.”

The field trial was conducted in Israel in collaboration with , a subsidiary of , an Israeli company that specializes in the production of lycopene from tomatoes for the food industry and food additives. The formulation was tested on the cultivation of industrial tomatoes on a land plot in a semi-arid climate similar to California’s climate, which included harsh weather conditions such as drought and record heat. Grace Breeding applied its WDS via the irrigation system once, two days after transplanting the tomatoes. The formula works by slow release and so only needs to be applied once per season and can be efficiently added to the irrigation system versus sprayed.

About Grace Breeding

Grace Breeding is an agrotech company focused on developing products that are biologically based and provide efficient and natural solutions for farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding aims to disrupt crop and animal agriculture – including, soil microbiome, crop fertilization, and crop protection – by offering innovative products and solutions that reduce the environmental damage caused by synthetic fertilizers. Grace Breeding has an R&D center in Israel and in parallel the company is developing its products with several leading research and development centers around the world.

References:

¹Nature Food: /articles/s43016-022-00521-y

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning our business operations and future plans. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, he preliminary nature of the Company's business operations, the dependency on the success of future filed trials, the regulatory environment, the Company's financial position and other risk factors. For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from the forward looking statements in this press release, please refer to our most recent annual report. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein.

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