GENERAL INFORMATION
Established:  2003
Type:  Graduated from Technological Incubator
Ownership:  Private
Parent:  Ofakim Hi-tech Ventures

Core business

Sprayable pheromones for mating disruption technique in
integrated pest management.

Overview

Pest management is an integral part of modern agriculture. The
damage caused by pests is estimated to be between 35 to 40
percent of all crops grown around the world. Most of pest control
is done by means of chemical pesticides that are spread, as
powder or liquid, on plants or ground. The attempt to control
pests by repetitive spraying of the fields with highly poisonous
insecticides, is problematic for the following reasons: (1) it
may promote the development of resistance to the insecticide in
the pest; (2) it may also kill beneficial insects and natural
enemies of the pest as well as other non-pest insects, (3) high
cost of the use of chemicals With increasing awareness to the
damage caused by pesticides, both to humans and the environment,
the number of chemical pesticides that are permitted for use is
decreasing.

All of the above brought up the need to gather all pest control
tactics into a management strategy named: integrated pest
management (IPM) and was recently broadened and called integrated
crop management (ICM). Pheromones are used in ICM for monitoring
pest populations (mostly insects), mass trapping and mating
disruption. The pheromones are released from devices that are
spread in the field. Among the devices developed for the slow
release of the pheromone are rubber septa, dispensers,
impregnated cardboard, hollow fibers, polyethylene tubes etc.
PHEROCAP develops its products based on bio polymer matrix, for
slow release of pheromones into the atmosphere. The matrix
PHEROCAP uses is composed of biodegradable materials that makes
it suitable for use in "green" agriculture, as well as, the
ability to reduce the size of the capsules to a micron-size
scale, enables the suspension to be sprayed over fields and
orchards canopies, to replace the manual application of pheromone
devices used today in pest management. The formulation is sprayed
by tractor or an airplane.

The major advantages are mode of application and nature of
components. The proposed material, in contrast to most of the
formulations used so far that have to be applied manually, is
formulated in a sprayable form, thus eliminates the need for
massive manpower needed for hand application to cover large area
in a very a short period; and in forests there is always a need
for airplane spray. All available products are made of plastic,
metal and other synthetic materials, which do not decompose in
the field, thus accumulate and become environmental nuisance.
PHEROCAP's products are composed of biodegradable materials and
environmental friendly.