FoA 247: How to Stop Herbicide-Resistant Weeds

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The question of “what are the real problems in agriculture that need to be solved?” is one we ask often here on this show. If you ask that to a dozen people, you’ll probably get about 20 different answers. But herbicide resistance is one that hits home for many. As you’re about to hear, the tools we’ve been using for decades are becoming less and less effective, and the pipeline for new active ingredients has been empty for a long time. Every year more and more weeds show signs of resistance - which is not a trend that can continue. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today’s guests are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Israel-based</span> <a href= "https://www.weedout-ibs.com"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">WeedOut</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, a biological herbicide company which uses proprietary pollen to sterilize weeds like Palmer Amaranth, otherwise known as pigweed. Dr. Efrat Lidor Nili and Dr. Orly Noivirt-Brik are both accomplished scientists who have already been a part of one successful exit: they worked at Rosetta Green which was purchased by Monsanto in 2013.</span> <a href= "https://www.weedout-ibs.com"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">WeedOUT</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">is a portfolio company of</span> <a href= "https://www.fgcvc.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fulcrum Global Capital</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who partnered with me on this episode.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>“As we continued to focus on (weed resistance) we understood that this a very significant problem not only in the US but also in Europe, also in China, Australia, South American and all over the world. Out of the 26 modes of action of herbicides 23 have already reported resistance.” -Dr.</em></strong> <a href= "mailto:orly@weedout-ibs.com"><strong><em>Orly Noivirt-Brik</em></strong></a></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In order to slow down this process of resistant development, it’s very important to combin