Matt Orr is in the fast lane these days, racking up the air miles as he meets with European regulators to facilitate a series of emergency use authorizations (EUA) to get SPEAR® LEP bioinsecticide into the hands of growers.

California tree nut producers are discovering the power of SPEAR® LEP, a peptide-based insecticide, in the battle to take back control over navel orangeworm. Being the first insecticide since 2007 with a new mode of action (IRAC Group 32) producers can add SPEAR LEP to their insect management rotation to reduce the overuse of traditional synthetic chemicals.

Growers are increasingly challenged to protect the yield and quality of their crops in the face of growing insect resistance to traditional insecticidal products. This comes at a time when the expanding world population demands more and better sources of food and many jurisdictions are placing increased value on eco-friendly farming practices.

Vestaron is leading a revolution in crop protection with peptide-based products that combine the safety and sustainability of biologicals with the efficacy of synthetic chemistry. Founded in 2005, the company commercialized in 2020 with the introduction of the SPEAR® bioinsecticide portfolio of products to the US market becoming the first company to register a peptide-based pesticide for crop protection by isolating peptides found in spider venom.