Zest Biotech: Developing Products That Build Healthy, Functional Ecosystems
Since 1972, Zest Biotech has been developing innovative products to produce healthier and more productive crops.
Usha Amaranathan, COO and daughter of founder Nathan Balasingham, talked to us about her father’s journey to organic and her vision of New Zealand’s organic future.
Nathan Balasingham | Photos courtesy of Zest Biotech
Tell us about your entrepreneurship journey. Was there a catalyst or event that made you start Zest Biotech?
Our journey actually began over 40 years ago. In 1972, founder of Zest Biotech, Nathan Balasingham, was carrying out research for his Master’s degree at Massey University. As part of his research, he applied radioactive herbicide to the soil of two closely related plants to track its fate.
While the first Nightshade weed variety was resistant, the susceptible variety, Black Nightshade, had a weaker defence system and was killed.
Nathan’s interest was piqued by two findings:
1. The fruit tissue selectively excluded the toxin from harming the seeds. This is similar to how a mother’s immune system can protect the foetus from toxins.
2. Almost immediately after treatment with the herbicide, the susceptible plant’s stomata closed, reducing the rate of photosynthesis and attempting to reduce the damage caused by the herbicide. This was evidence of an innate processes to protect the plant from harm and confirmed to Nathan that plants have an immune system.
Nathan went on to become a Scientist for the DSIR and a Research and Market Development Executive for Bayer and BASF. He also developed, patented and commercialised the frozen kiwifruit drink “Kiwi Crush”.
Eventually scientific developments caught up with Nathan’s idea. A key development came in the 1990s when scientists discovered that all organisms, including plants, have receptors on their membranes, and these receptors can recognise the molecular pattern of pests, diseases and other organisms as well environmental changes. The receptors signal to cells to produce a range of bioactive molecules that upregulate the plants’ immune system. This natural process was the key that would enable him to develop the technology — the ‘switch’ to turn on, or turn up, the immune system.
Nathan began Indigo Limited to carry out R&D. In 2018, Zest Biotech was formed to market four products derived from the technology platform: Biozest™ for pastural farming, Agrizest™ for horticulture (trees and vines), Primazest ™ for horticulture (soft tissue crops) and Naturezest™ for home gardeners.
Why are your products organic? What helped you decide that your products would be produced to meet certified organic standards?
Nathan’s family comes from Sri Lanka. When he was researching how to ‘switch on’ plant immune systems, he looked to a basic principle of Ayurvada, which his family had followed: “Don’t put on your skin anything that you would not put in your mouth”.
He combined that basic rule of Ayurveda with current scientific knowledge and started to see that the molecules he needed to build the ‘switch’ could be found the foods his family had talked about — different seaweeds and high-oil-content foods such as coconut. He realised he could extract the molecules out of commodity products he could easily acquire and that would not cause him any harm.
So, it has been built into our business philosophy from the start that the technology would be developed using safe components and that our products would benefit crops and livestock as well as the land. We consider ourselves system biologists and strive to help build healthy, functional ecosystems rather than produce single target/single effect products.
While we started out marketing our products to conventional farmers and growers, we always knew our products could be certified as organic inputs. In 2018, we took the leap and put the time and resources into organic registration. We hope that organic farmers and growers will embrace our technology.
We use food ingredients, plant-based acids and wetting agents which have been examined and certified for use in organic production. As a result, all our products are certified as inputs for organic production and meet the organic conditions for all international markets.
What makes your products different to others?
Our unique technology. In technical terms: a foliar applied molecular pattern recognition receptor signalling compound that upregulates the octadeconoid and phenylpropanoid pathway for plant health and productivity in the horticultural and pastoral agriculture sectors. Or in simpler terms: a ‘switch’ to turn on, or turn up, plant immune systems.
Unlike most products that have an active ingredient that is designed to target a pest, disease or weed, or fertilisers which directly provide nutrients, our products enable the plant itself to produce a range of beneficial compounds called phenylpropanoids.
Phenylpropanoids used to be largely ignored by scientists as ‘secondary metabolites’. Research over the last 30-40 years has provided evidence that these bioactive compounds actually have a huge range of important functions. For example:
Flavonoids determine flavours in fruit and vegetables;
Cinnamic acid, a flavour compound, also the precursor to the phenolic hormone salicylic acid which is involved in another phase of the immune system — the Systemic Acquired Resistance system;
Stillbeans — the phenolics in red wine known to deliver health benefits;
Phenolic alcohols are involved in production of cascades of esters for fruit & wine bouquet, perfume to attract bees for pollination and predators for defence';
Isoflavonoids: involved in defence against pest and disease as well as soil mineralization and symbiotic microbial interaction for nutrient acquisition;
Flavones play a key role in signalling between plants and microbes, they are involved in nitrogen fixing;
Anthocynines for colours in flowers, fruits, seeds and leaves, they are also known to act as a chaperone during cell development and morphogenesis;
Proanthocyanidins involved in repairing damaged cells;
Tannins have antimicrobial activity; and
Another cascade produces, among other bioactive compounds, lignin and suberin which strengthen the cell wall against physiological and disease damage. It also puts the crunch in your apples.
So, by switching on, or up-regulating, the production of these compounds within the plant itself we can produce healthier, more resilient crops with increased yield and quality. As evidenced by our 14-year track record with Agrizest in the horticulture industry.
We launched Biozest in 2019. Like Agrizest, Biozest strengthens the repair, growth and defence systems (immune system) of plants, in this case, pasture. The reduced stress results in increased pasture growth, quality and resilience. When ruminants consume Biozest treated pasture ruminant efficiency is increased to maximise conversion of pasture protein to milk or meat instead of being wasted as urea and methane.
Biozest is a really exciting product for Kiwi farmers: it represents an opportunity to lead a move towards higher productivity and effective environmental stewardship and to future-proof the agricultural industry against potential climate change related liabilities and regulatory barriers to farm productivity.
What new challenges do you think the organic industry will face moving forward?
We see a very positive future for the organic industry. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of where their food comes from and increasingly demanding of producers to deliver safe and nutritious food.
New Zealand’s population has just topped five million and the global population continues to grow — this means food security will become increasingly relevant even in developed countries.
New Zealand is well known internationally for producing high quality milk, meat and produce but we can only continue to do this if we look after the land and farm sustainably. If the organic industry continues to evolve and embrace new technology while holding firm to its principles we see the industry thriving.
How can the organic industry as a whole be better?
Perhaps the organic industry can promote its successes better: show the wider industry and consumers that organic producers can be just as productive, produce top quality products and that they can do so by making educated decisions based on high quality science and data and by embracing new technology.