Linde Gases, a division of the Linde Group (linde.com), has launched its Crop Science business. The re-energized product and service offering—previously referred to as its “fumigants” business—is recognition of Linde’s renewed commitment to combating the increasing challenges facing the world food supply chain.
In May, Linde opened a new plant in the Czech Republic, which will manufacture the Group’s latest environmentally friendly fumigant. The new fumigant, to be marketed as EDN®, will be used to limit the impact of pests and disease on timber and in agriculture. Based on ethanedinitrile, EDN is an ozone friendly alternative to methyl bromide (MeBr), which was banned in many countries in 1992 by the Montreal Protocol due to its ozone-depleting effects. EDN surpasses the efficacy of MeBr, requires less dosage per crop, has a shorter fumigation period, and has the additional benefit of leaving residues that degrade to become useful soil fertilizers.
Global research by the Department of Agriculture and Food in Australia has confirmed that a third of the world’s food supply is lost or wasted—enough to feed over two billion people. Over half of this food loss is attributable to destruction by crop pests. There are an estimated 70,000 species of crop pests responsible for over $1.4 trillion of economic losses each year, and as crop pests are predicted to outpace the growth of environmental pests and animal diseases over the next 20 years, this problem will only intensify.
Leading Linde’s Crop Science program, Gas Applications Manager, Chris Dolman, said, “Unwanted and harmful organisms are an increasingly global and complex problem, ranging from microorganisms such as bacteria and molds to arthropods such as insects and spiders, to specific types of plants.”
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