A south St. Vital-based company has made a breakthrough by producing an innovative tool to increase fertilizer use efficiency.
XiteBio Technologies Inc. (3914 St. Mary’s Rd.) has received Canadian Food Inspection Agency registration for a yield-boosting biotech product for potato (tuber) growers.
According to a news release, XiteBio Tuber+ is a phosphorus solubilizing ag-biological that was developed at the company’s facility in Winnipeg, and will be sold worldwide.
Picture: Dr. Manas Banerjee, CEO, XiteBio Technologies Inc.
Photo source: Winnipeg Free Press
It’s been specifically developed for tuber crops such as potatoes, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes, and can be applied in-furrow during planting or at early post-emergence and is compatible with commonly used liquid fertilizers and pesticides, the release states.
Dr. Manas Banerjee, XiteBio’s chief executive officer, said the technology can help growers produce more potatoes on the same number of acres while increasing profitability, which gives users a competitive advantage, especially in light of rising inflation and high fertilizer costs.
“It’s all about maximizing efficiency,” Banerjee said. “This could be hugely significant … Think about the potato market in Manitoba, as well as other provinces such Alberta and P.E.I., as well as places like Idaho, too. This is a huge market, and a huge boost for us.”
“The potato farmer wants good quality as well as good quantity,” he added, noting XiteBio is now in its 14th year and has 16 employees.
Banerjee said the registration of XiteBio Tuber+ is a win-win for all parties concerned, not least because “it’s a natural product and a sustainable product.”
“It’s all about nature enhancing nature,” he said.
Go online at xitebio.ca for more information.
News source: Winnipeg Free Press