Now in its second year, the 5-5-5 Innovation Showcase at the Biotimulants World Congress (BSWC) held in Milan, Italy, brought to the stage companies that were seeking investment opportunities as well as collaboration partnerships.
This year’s winner was Dr. Daniel Manriquez Becerra, Director of Research and Development at Cultiva LLC. In his presentation, Dr. Manriquez unveiled Cultiva's innovative approach to crop protection with cuticle care and their proprietary SureSeal technology. Cultiva’s product, Parka, is revolutionizing plant health for high-value commercial crops.
“I’m so happy to be the winner in the innovations session at this biostimulant congress,” said Manriquez. “It’s so important for us at Cultiva to share our technology. That is the critical supplement that can help plants to survive stress scenarios and improve food quality and to reduce food losses.”
This year, six companies took part in the competition. Each company had up to 10 minutes to pitch their technology and innovation.
Naomi Brooker, Portfolio Director with New AG International, said the 5-5-5 Innovation Showcase is for those who have exciting technology, a new innovation, something that nobody else is offering. Three individuals acted as judges to the presentations.
“The idea of the innovation stage is to create very short, snappy and memorable speech,” said Brooker. “We wanted to hear what the new technology was, what problem the technology is solving, and what the company was looking for going forward in terms of the innovation and technology.”
Cultiva’s technology consists of plant cuticle care, providing protection to high-value commercial crops such as cherries, grapes, apples and blueberries.
The company states that whether it is on the fruit or foliage, the cuticle plays a vital part in plant health, food quality and optimized yields. “Our vision as a company is exploring the capabilities of our proprietary SureSeal technology and developing new applications that provide agronomic value to growers worldwide,” said the company.
In March 2023, Cultiva announced it had entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with BioSafe Systems, LLC. “As the company continues to expand the growth of its proprietary SureSeal technology and Parka, its flagship and proven plant health solution that enhances the fruit and leaf cuticle, this partnership provides greater access for retailers to bring Cultiva products to their growers in the eastern United States,” noted a news release.
“We’ve seen great success in helping growers maximize the marketable yield of their fruit crop with Parka in the western United States, especially in the Pacific Northwest and California,” said Luis Hernandez, CEO, Cultiva. “We’re excited to enter this partnership with BioSafe Systems to help specialty crop growers in the eastern United States do the same.” ●
Dr. Daniel Manriquez Becerra, Director of Research and Development at Cultiva LLC
Jean-Pierre Leymonie (right) chair of the innovation session.
