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Pesticides company Plant Health Care reported positive results from a field trial of a product to protect corn, wheat and lettuce crops.
The PREtec peptide PHC279 was found to increase corn yields by 9-15% when applied as a foliar spray, creating potential grower value of $54 - $82 per acre at current average prices.
It also significantly improved the control of two key corn diseases by as much as 50%, even under heavy disease pressure.
In spring wheat, PHC279 increased yield by as much as 17% when added to the standard disease control program, which was worth $86 per acre at current prices.
And for lettuce, it increased yield by as much as 22% compared to fungicides alone.
'We are extremely encouraged with the performance of PHC279 in multiple key crops,' chief executive Chris Richards said.
'Building on our recent success with PHC279 for the control of Asian soybean rust in Brazil, it is clear PHC279 will have important benefits for farmers in many crops.'
'The registration of our first PREtec peptide is progressing in the US and Brazil and the scale-up of manufacturing has started.'
'We are excited about the potential for products based on our PREtec peptides, which are targeting markets with an initial opportunity of $5bn.'
'We aim to launch the first peptides as soon as regulatory permits have been obtained, to offer these valuable new tools to growers in the US and other countries.'
At 9:15am: (LON:PHC) Plant Health Care PLC share price was +5.13p at 11.5p