Marrone Bio Innovations' Regalia® Maxx Biofungicide Granted Canada Approval

DAVIS, Calif., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI), a leading global provider of natural pest management products for the agricultural and water treatment markets, announced today that Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency has approved Regalia® Maxx biofungicide for outdoor and greenhouse use on a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as on wheat and ornamentals. In conjunction with the approval, MBI has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Engage Agro, a leading Canadian distributor specializing in high-value fruit and vegetable crops.

"The approval of Regalia Maxx brings Canadian growers an environmentally responsible and effective solution for managing pests in conventional and organic crops," said MBI CEO Pam Marrone. "We believe that Engage Agro's expertise in high-value fruit and vegetable crops, coupled with its breadth of experience in the Canadian market, position us to expand the footprint of Regalia Maxx in North America."

Regalia Maxx is a product derived from a natural plant extract of Reynoutria sachalinensis, which triggers plants' natural defense systems to combat several bacterial and fungal diseases. It will be sold in Canada for use in fields and greenhouses to protect tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, cucurbits, ornamental plants and wheat.

"Regalia Maxx is particularly important to growers because it offers another weapon to combat the increasing threat of pest resistance to chemical treatments," said Engage Agro President Ray Chyc. "We look forward to working with MBI to bring Regalia Maxx to Canada and to expand the Regalia Maxx label for additional uses in the future."

Used in tank mixes, in program rotations and as a stand-alone product, Regalia Maxx is proven to control diseases such as powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and gray mold, bacterial blight, and septoria leaf spot. The product can be applied up to and including the day of harvest (PHI of zero days). In addition, its exemption from the requirement of a food tolerance is particularly important for crops that are subject to maximum residue levels. Syngenta Crop Protection AG distributes Regalia Maxx in Turkey, and the product is distributed in Mexico by FMC Corp.

About Marrone Bio Innovations
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. is a leading global provider of natural products for the agricultural and water treatment markets. Its effective and environmentally friendly natural agricultural products provide higher yields and quality while managing pesticide resistance and residues. Through its proprietary discovery and development platform and strategically in-licensed technologies, MBI has developed a pipeline of advanced and early-stage productsfor the significant agricultural and water treatment markets. MBI is selling its award-winning Regalia® biofungicide in the U.S. and other countries, and is addressing the water market with Zequanox® for controlling invasive aquatic mussels in fresh waterways. In 2011 the company received EPA approval for Grandevo™, a broad-spectrum, highly effective natural insecticide for use on agricultural and ornamental crops. The company has submitted another insecticide and an herbicide to the EPA. MBI currently has three dozen patents pending in the U.S. and globally.

About Engage Agro
Engage Agro is involved in the registration, sales and marketing of specialized and niche market crop protection products in Canada. The company also markets specialized products for the integrated control of disease in turf and nuisance animals in industrial settings.

Engage Agro is a strong advocate and supporter of the minor use registration system in Canada. The company works with grower associations, researchers and extension specialists to register active ingredients that provide new and useful pest control for high value fruit, vegetable and specialty crops.

SOURCE Marrone Bio Innovations