Combating downy mildew in vines: Trials show the effectiveness of the biocontrol product AXPERA on downy mildew in vines under difficult conditions in 2024

Press release

Chassieu (France), November 25, 2024 – 5:45pm - Amoéba (FR0011051598 - ALMIB ), an industrial greentech specialising in the development of natural microbiological solutions based on the patented use of amoebae, announces that this summer, in partnership with IFV+, it successfully carried out a trial on downy mildew in vines. The study, carried out in the vineyards of south-west France, assessed the promising effectiveness of AXPERA, a new amoeba lysate-based biofungicide expected to be approved in France in late 2025/early 2026, in combating this fungal disease dreaded by winegrowers.

After the first very interesting results observed by IFV with AXPERA used alone throughout the season during the 3 years of trials of the European Novaterra project, a new stage was reached in 2024 with this trial of practical value. Carried out on the Mauzac grape variety, specific to the Gaillac appellation (Tarn) and using a rigorous test protocol, its aim is to assess the performance of AXPERA in combination with a reduced dose of copper. The results showed that in the extremely difficult conditions of the year, where bunches were almost totally destroyed in the untreated control (95% of bunches were affected and on average 80% destroyed), the combination of AXPERA + 1 reduced dose of copper reduced symptoms by 57.7%. The classic copper-based programme achieved a reduction of only 37.5%.

This field trial highlights the high potential for integrating AXPERA into adapted programmes, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional phytosanitary treatments and enabling a very significant reduction in the use of copper. IFV+ and Amoéba plan to continue their research to refine the integration of AXPERA into programmes to combat downy mildew in different climatic conditions and French wine-growing regions.

Downy mildew, caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola, represents a major threat to French wine production, causing significant economic losses. The 2024 vintage proved once again to be highly favourable to downy mildew in the vineyards of the south-west. Right from the start of the season, conditions were ripe for early development: frequent rainy spells, long periods of humidity and favourable temperatures. In the trial area, rainfall was +147 mm above normal, i.e. +80%.

"In these difficult conditions for contact products and biocontrol products, the combination of AXPERA and a copper-based product provides a gain in protection on leaves and bunches, offering even better protection with a reduced dose of copper compared with the " normal " copper dose. The gain in protection is even greater on bunches than on leaves, which is not often the case with biocontrol products. These are very encouraging results for the fight against mildew," confirms Eric Chantelot, IFV+ manager and Ecophyto expert.

"This success demonstrates once again that our AXPERA biofungicide represents a major advance in vineyard protection in France and Europe, including in a year with high downy mildew pressure such as 2024", says Jean-François Doucet, CEO of Amoéba. "In order to meet winegrowers' expectations as quickly as possible, we now expect AXPERA to be approved rapidly at French and European level."

About Amoéba

Founded in 2010, Amoéba is a greentech company based in Chassieu (Lyon, France) whose ambition is to become a major player in the treatment of microbiological risk based on the patented use of amoebae in the plant protection and cosmetics sectors.

With know-how that is unique in the world and protected by numerous patents, Amoéba is currently the only company capable of exploiting the full potential of the Willaertia amoeba on an industrial scale and growing it in sufficient volumes to offer biological solutions that constitute a viable alternative to the chemical products widely used today. Amoéba is currently focusing on the global biocontrol market for plant protection and the cosmetics market. As the marketing of plant protection products is subject to obtaining local regulatory approvals, the Company has taken the necessary regulatory steps and in 2022 obtained approval for its active substance in the USA as well as the recommendation for approval in Europe issued by the Austrian authority. Cosmetic applications do not require prior approval from a competent authority in Europe or the United States.

Amoéba is listed on Euronext Growth (ALMIB). The company is a member of the Bpifrance Excellence network and is eligible for the PEA-PME scheme. For more information, visit www.amoeba-nature.com.

About IFV+

IFV + is a brand of the French Institute of Vine and Wine. Its purpose is to make the expertise and solutions produced by the IFV available to companies in the wine industry. The IFV fosters the technical agility of the wine industry by relying on regional co-innovation approaches and using all knowledge vectors (training, dissemination, etc.), with a view to contributing to the economic competitiveness and sustainability of the wine industry. By experimenting for tomorrow, the IFV, through its research and development activities, supports the transformation of the industry. Since 2023, the IFV has been awarded the CSR label.

Press contacts

Droit Devant Agency

Laëtitia Pinto
pinto@droitdevant.fr
Tel. : +33 (0)7 64 83 39 85

IFV+

Marion Ivaldi, IFV Communications Director
marion.ivaldi@vignevin.com
Tel. : +33 (0)6 73 97 54 36

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Amoéba which are based on its own assumptions and estimates and on information that is currently available to us. However, Amoéba gives no assurance that the estimates contained in such forward-looking statements will be verified, with these estimates subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in Amoéba's universal registration document filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) on April 29, 2024 under number D24-0352 and available on the Amoéba website (www.amoeba-nature.com). The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Amoéba or not currently considered material by Amoéba . The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause Amoéba's actual results, financial conditions, performance, or achievements to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.