Crop  Microclmte Management Inc

Dedicated to abiotic stress management

Research Focus

Crop Microclimate Management is focused upon two approaches to abiotic stress management. The first is avoidance, using products such as Screen™, a physical barrier that reduces the deleterious effects of certain wavelengths of light on plant tissues.  The second is to manipulate plant biochemical stress mechanisms, employing materials that activate specific enzyme systems. Products may involve either approach, or take advantage of the combination of the two.

CMM has submitted a patent for the use and composition of combination products. These advances are under development as Fusion Technology™.  Screen Duo is our first commercial product based upon Fusion Technology.. A second patent has been submitted for new, low rate (grams/ha) compounds that ameliorate stress in crops. These naturally occurring compounds will provide low cost options for protecting yield of field and horticultural crops, providing alternatives to existing “plant health” materials, not jeopardizing existing fungicide or insecticides due to resistance.

Formulations:  Several variants on Screen are under development with the goal of providing films tailored                           to markets that experience challenging environmental conditions, such as higher rainfall, and                           products that may contain additional components beneficial to specific crops. We are also                           working on solutions to low temperature/chilling/freeze stress. Trial results in apples, wine                           grapes, citrus, tomatoes, and peaches show reduced rates of Fusion Technology-based                                            products are more effective for heat and light stress management than full rate particle film        

                          products such as Screen, Surround, or others.

Biochemistry: CMM has identified several compounds that have been demonstrated to stimulate stress-                          coping   mechanisms in plants.  We believe that it is possible to develop these and other                              compounds into reliable stress reducing tools for growers. In addition, we envision developing                           new, yield-enhancing products with greater efficiency than Screen or it’s variants. These will be                           based on proprietary technology that utilizes chemical agents that direct plant biochemistry to                           take advantage of higher energy levels resulting from lower photoinhibition. These may result in                           larger, sweeter fruit, or direct the crop into using it’s resources to make more protein.

All early developments planned will utilize materials that are currently considered to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, and should be suitable for use in both organic and conventional cropping systems.