Heerlen, The Netherlands/Press Release -- Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. has signed a collaborative agreement to work on early stage research with DSM Food Specialties B.V.

Marrone develops and markets biological pesticides and biological plant health products. Marrone’s biological controls use naturally derived products to kill pests, stop fungus and support plant growth. In many cases, Marrone’s products can replace chemical pesticides, which are being outlawed in increasingly more jurisdictions.

This announcement comes on the heals of Marrone’s announcement that it would collaborate with Italian biostimulant company Valagro SpA on agricultural products.

In January, Marrone signed a collaborative research agreement with the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd. The agreement covers a number of novel bio-active organisms and natural products which Plant & Food Research will provide to Marrone for the expected development of biopesticides and plant health products. The MBI field of use includes conventional and organic agricultural uses, turf and ornamental, home and garden, and forestry.

With the DSM collaboration, Marrone will work on several biological active ingredients with the end goal of improving crop production and food safety.

“This agreement takes advantage of each company’s strength in its core competencies," Alison Stewart, Marrone’s senior vice president of research and development, said in a release. DSM Food Specialties is a world leader in fermentation and enzyme technology and is the ideal partner for exploring new applications of microbial strains for food safety and other food ingredient applications,”