Plaque-Shift

Shifting the way we manage pests and plagues

What is Plague-Shift?

Plague-Shift uses a ‘pioneering’ technology that tackles endemic pests and plagues that farmers are challenged with on a daily basis. These problems are worldwide. Plague-Shift excels in the area’s where standard insecticides and pesticides fall short:-

No-where to hide: Plague-Shift has the unique ability to eliminate pests and infestations, during development within soil, and most significantly once they have penetrated plants.

No resistance: Pest and plague defence mechanisms make long term efficacy of most pesticide, fungicide and insecticide products almost impossible. Plague-Shift is identified by pest and plague cell structures as a crucial component for their health and survival, there is little or no chance of them developing a resistance to treatment.

Application: Plague-Shift is highly effective as an inoculant for seeds and seedlings. In addition, it can be applied both as a root and foliar treatment acting on developing pests and plagues in soil and after they have penetrated plants.

Enhance plant health: Although deadly to pests and plagues , Plague-Shift has a remarkable impact on plant defence against biotic and abiotic stressors, and significantly enhances photosynthesis and carbohydrate synthesis.

Non-toxic: All ingredients in the standard product are natural plant extracts and contain no toxins. The active ingredients that act against various pests and plagues are harmless to plants, animals and humans.

Specific pests and plagues: After consultation with experts, the potential recommended new dosage rates would be to add only between 1 or 2 % of specific current pesticides, insecticides, herbicides or fungicides being used as SOP to the base product.

How Plague-Shift works!

Lipids: Lipids play a crucial role in many aspects of cell function and health. They are so intrinsic to cell life that cells are in constant need of more. Mosmart’s associated scientists have exploited this cell behavior and developed a technology to maximize the delivery of payloads, deadly or nutritional, direct into cells. (i.e. Perfect Trojan Horse)

ANODS: Our technology is called ANODS (Amphiphilic Nano Oil Delivery System) which are 50 nanometer liposomal vesicle (lipid structures) which can penetrate almost any biological barrier. Although the minuscule size is a major advantage, their absorption into cells is further amplified by a biological “lipid transfer” mechanism that mediates and expedites lipid transfer across the cell membranes.

Trojan-horse-effect: A key feature of ANODS is their ability to encapsulate selected ingredients. Seen by nematode cells as desired lipids, the ANODS are readily absorbed into cells while depositing encapsulated ingredients into the cells. This “Trojan Horse” mechanism allows us to deliver our naturally derived fungicidal, insecticidal, herbicidal, or anti inflammatory ingredients quickly and easily into targeted cells.

Targeting: Exploiting the “protein based” messaging system used by cells to identify/attract each other, our ANODS are designed to include selected receptors which facilitates their rapid move towards targeted cells. This overcomes the wasteful and sometimes dangerous “spray and pray” approach used in traditional treatments.

“It seems that the age of the traditional fumigants and nematicides has passed, and the opportunity for managing nematodes with synthetic chemicals with broad biocidal activity is declining”

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

What studies say!

A number of studies and tests have been carried out on in-vitro and pot or farm scenarios. A summary of some of these studies is listed below. More details including pictorial and/or video data can be provided on request.

Plant penetration: By far the single biggest problem in pest and plague control is the inability of treatment products to penetrate plants and reach the infected area. Plague-Shift was tested on infested Papyrus which has a difficult fibrous membrane to penetrate. Dye stained ANODS were found to penetrate 20x deeper than where nematode colonies are typically found.

Nematode egg penetration: Eggs exposed to Plague-Shift where completely saturated with dye stained anodes within a few days. Penetration was rapid and no barrier function was observed. After 5 days the inside of the eggs had completely dissolved, with no hatchlings found in the total sample

Nematode adults penetration: The body of adult nematodes exposed to dye stained anodes were completely infiltrated within in 48 hours, confirming excellent and unhindered penetration. Within 36 hours holes had appeared in the genital, intestinal and oesophage area’s indicating the destruction of the nematode from within.

Inoculant on tomato seedlings: In this study roots of tomato seedlings were inoculated with Plague-Shift and compared with an untreated control. 1000 nematode eggs were placed at the roots of all plants and the results were assessed after 58 days. Untreated seedlings were found to contained 163% more nematode eggs.

Treated tomato seedlings with foliar spray: In this 3.5month study, tomato seedlings where treated with a foliar spay in the first month only. At the end of the study period there were 233% more nematode eggs present in the control group versus the Plague-Shift treated group. Although significant, the researchers at the University of the North West concluded that monthly spaying (as opposed to once in first month) will further amplify the results due to the accumulative hatching cycles during the 3.5 month period. The result nevertheless confirmed the formula’s trans-foliar penetrating properties and as a highly effective post-plant treatment.

Synthetic nematicide vs Plague-Shift treatments of inoculated maize: This study compared treatments of four competitor nematicide inoculants from a large pesticide producer with Plague-Shift. Results after 15 days showed 25% more Plague-Shift seedlings survived compared to those treated with the pesticide producer’s products (averaged across their four treatments).

The effect on Fungus shows penetration and destruction within 3 minutes.

Drug Resistance. The two photos below demonstrate the ability of Plague-Shift to penetrate (as a carrier) of specific treatments into insects. NOTE: In this demonstration Methomyl was stained red and only 2% added to the Plague-Shift base Product. It is well known that Aphids are generally resistant to Methomyl and therefore the Aphid on the left did not die, but the Aphid on the right died within 2 minutes, unable to resist the Plague-Shift and only 2% Methomyl mix.

Penetration into Insect Eggs.
Results: Plague-Shift with only 2% Cypermethrin moves through the egg of a stink bug to destroy it internally.

Summary:

Tens of thousands of pests and plagues invade farms all over the world and cause extreme damage. The 1300 known invasive pests and pathogens cost global agriculture more than $540 billion, annually and it is evident that farmers are losing the battle.

The total global loss due to pests varies from about 50% in wheat to more than 80% in cotton production, and losses of some 31, 37 and 40% for maize, rice and potatoes respectively.

Weeds cause an overall global crop loss of some 34%.

This is mainly due to the following factors:

First, drug resistance leading to the obsolescence of very many varying treatments;
Second, due to high toxicity of treatments many of the conventional treatments have been banned, leaving a desperate void in the market-place;
Thirdly, with the increase in temperatures, there is a marked increase in pests, and this is compounded by a reduced innate plant defense as result of climatic stress which plants are subjected to.
Many of the pesticides have been associated with health and environmental issues, and the agricultural use of certain pesticides has been abandoned or banned.
The numerous negative health effects that have been associated with chemical pesticides include, among other effects, dermatological, gastrointestinal, neurological, carcinogenic, respiratory, reproductive, and endocrine effects.
Residues of pesticides can be found in a great variety of everyday foods and beverages, including for instance cooked meals, water, wine, fruit juices, refreshments, and animal feeds.
A Survey concluded that 489 different insect species have become resistant to about 400 different insecticides.

Plague-Shift’s unique penetration properties, non-toxicity of the base product as well as the 98% reduction of active ingredients in extreme cases makes this one if not our most exciting offering to better the world we live in.