03 November 2026, Belgium: Biotalys (Euronext Brussels: BTLS), an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for sustainable crop protection, today announced that it has received approval from the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides* to conduct large-scale demonstration trials of its next-generation biofungicide candidate, EVOCA NG, marking the world-first commercial application of the product under real growing conditions.
The approval by the Dutch regulatory authority enables commercial trials by growers on up to 150 hectares of tomatoes, 150 hectares of cucumbers, and 50 hectares of strawberries, significantly expanding the scale of Biotalys’ demonstration program running in previous years with the company’s first-generation biocontrol, EVOCA.
“The approval of this demonstration program marks an important milestone for our company,” said Carlo Boutton, Chief Executive Officer of Biotalys. “By enabling growers to evaluate EVOCA NG across larger commercial acreages while allowing harvested produce into the food chain, these trials provide real-world validation of our first commercial product as we continue to advance its development and production optimisation. It also reflects the growing confidence regulators have in the safety and potential of our AGROBODY based biofungicide technology.”
The trials will evaluate EVOCA NG for the control of both Botrytis and powdery mildew, two economically important fungal diseases affecting many crops worldwide. Botrytis can infect flowers, fruits, leaves and stems, causing tissue decay and grey mould that can reduce both crop yield and marketable quality. Powdery mildew develops mainly on the surface of leaves and other green tissues, where it can weaken plant growth, ultimately affecting crop productivity and fruit quality. By controlling these fungal pathogens, EVOCA NG supports growers in maintaining the yield and quality of their crops at a time when many conventional crop protection products face resistance, are being phased out or are no longer authorised.
Feedback from Dutch growers who used EVOCA in earlier demonstration trials in the Netherlands underscores the practical value of evaluating the technology under commercial growing conditions. “We applied EVOCA on 3.7 hectares of strawberries with great results,” said Noud Dings of Brookberries, where Biotalys’ product replaced a synthetic fungicide in a rotation program. Rob van Enckevort of De Peelkroon commented: “For a second year in a row, we successfully used EVOCA against powdery mildew in strawberries.”
Both growers also showed interest in the newly approved demonstration trials with EVOCA NG, which aim to familiarize farmers facing a shrinking crop protection toolbox with Biotalys’ new technology and support early product adoption ahead of its expected European registration and launch in 2029.
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