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At Agrolab, we are proud to announce that our innovative drone-based canopy height measurement method is now officially approved by the Danish GEP inspection unit. This technology aligns with EPPO guideline PP1/333(1), which supports the adoption of digital innovations for efficacy evaluations in plant protection.

The Challenges of Traditional Canopy Height Measurement

In field trials, reliable and accurate canopy height data is essential for assessing crop growth and evaluating plant protection products. Traditionally, measurements have been taken manually using a ruler, but this method has limitations:

• Inconsistent Sampling: Only 5–20 measurements per plot are typically collected, which may not represent the entire field.
  
  
• Human Bias: The choice of measurement locations can unintentionally skew results.
  
  
• Labor-Intensive Process: Manual measurements require significant time and effort, especially for large-scale trials.

With GEP approval, Agrolab is now able to offer a validated and superior alternative using drone technology.

Recognition by the Danish GEP Inspection Unit

Our method aligns with the EPPO guideline PP1/333(1), which emphasizes the adoption of digital technologies for efficacy evaluations in plant protection products. The Danish GEP inspection unit’s approval of our drone-based canopy height measurement is a testament to the method’s reliability and compliance with industry standards.

Figure 13: The Average height measured with ruler (average of 20 subsamples) and the average height measured with the drone with 9975 sampling points.

What This Means for Our Clients

This advancement underscores our commitment to delivering high-quality field trial data. By leveraging drone technology, we provide:

• More Reliable Results: Thousands of measurements ensure accurate data.

• Faster Turnaround Times: Streamlined data collection accelerates project timelines.

• Reduced Costs: Increased efficiency means fewer resources are needed.

Whether you’re developing new plant protection products or seeking precise efficacy data, Agrolab’s GEP-approved drone technology sets a new benchmark for field trials in Scandinavia and the Baltic States.

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January 2025 - Agrolab is proud to announce an exciting new chapter in our journey as a leader in Northern Zone field trials and regulatory consulting. Starting January 2025, Agrolab will transition to a new organizational structure designed to enhance our consulting services and streamline operations. Agrolab will become two separate business entities covering each of two specialized areas of expertise: Agrolab Field and Agrolab Consulting.

A Natural Evolution for Growth
This restructuring reflects Agrolab's commitment to providing high-quality expertise in both field trials and regulatory consulting. By creating these distinct entities, our company aims to better serve clients and focus on the unique demands of each business area. Agrolab Field will continue to specialize in high-quality regulatory field trials, ensuring the trials meet the rigorous standards required for product approval. Meanwhile, Agrolab Consulting will focus on delivering in-depth Northern Zone regulatory advice and helping clients navigate the complexities of plant protection products, biostimulants and biocontrol registrations.

Sandra S. Jørgensen, who has been Agrolab’s director, will take on the role of CEO of Agrolab Consulting, where she will lead the expansion of regulatory consulting and advisory services. Sandra S. Jørgensen, CEO of Agrolab Consulting states, “Regulatory consulting is a field that requires agility, deep expertise, and close collaboration with clients and regulatory bodies. By becoming an independent company, we can sharpen our focus and ensure that we remain at the forefront of the industry.”

Kenneth Sørensen will take on a role in Agrolab Consulting as Chief Consultant, focusing on client partnerships and business development. “This change is a natural evolution of our business,” says Kenneth Sørensen. “By dividing our expertise into two specialized companies, we are positioning ourselves to deliver even greater value to our clients. This structure also allows our teams to focus more deeply on their areas of expertise and sets the stage for interdisciplinary innovations.”

What This Means for Agrolab’s Clients
Clients of both Agrolab Field and Agrolab Consulting can expect the same high level of service and dedication they have come to trust. This restructuring ensures that both teams can specialize further, while the combined efforts of Agrolab management provides the stability and strategic oversight needed to maintain consistency and quality in and between the two companies. Although Agrolab Field and Agrolab Consulting will operate as independent companies, they will continue to work closely together. This ensures that when clients seek support or trials from one company, they benefit from the combined expertise and seamless service provided by both entities.

This transformation represents Agrolab’s ongoing commitment to its mission: ensuring that agricultural products are safe, effective, and environmentally sustainable. With this new structure, Agrolab is better positioned than ever to support its clients in meeting the challenges of tomorrow.

For more information about the changes at Agrolab, please contact:

Sandra S. Jørgensen
CEO of Agrolab Consulting
sns@agrolab.dk
+4527516275

Agrolab at the Forefront of Nordic-Baltic Collaboration on Pesticide Resistance

At Agrolab, we are proud to play an active role in the Nordic-Baltic collaboration on pesticide resistance research and efficacy evaluation, known as Norbarag. This network unites representatives from research institutes and agrochemical companies across the EU North Zone, driving joint efforts to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in agriculture: pesticide resistance.

Dorte’s Role in Advancing Research

Our own Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Dorte Castberg, has been an integral contributor to Norbarag since 2018, serving as the sub-chair for insecticide resistance. In this role, Dorte compiles annual reports summarizing resistance data collected from participants at the meetings. Her expertise and long-standing relationships within the network, dating back to her involvement as a postdoc starting in 2015, make her a key figure in the collaborative effort to share knowledge and drive solutions.

Agrolab has also contributed directly by previously conducting field trials that have informed Dorte’s analyses. These trials, paired with the insights shared within Norbarag, help create actionable strategies for tackling resistance challenges across the Nordic-Baltic region.

The latest resistance report, prepared by Dorte, is expected to be published on the Norbarag website soon. Below we will present some key findings of the report.

Key findings: Findings of insecticide monitoring in Nordic and Baltics

From 2016 to 2024, the Nordic Baltic Resistance Action Group (NORBARAG), in collaboration with partners like Agrolab, has monitored insecticide susceptibility in pollen beetles and cabbage seed weevils. This eight-year analysis highlights the evolution of resistance patterns and identifies key trends in efficacy for three widely used insecticides: λ-cyhalothrin, τ-fluvalinate, and acetamiprid.

Key Findings for Pollen Beetles:

• λ-cyhalothrin: Resistance is widespread, but susceptibility shows an encouraging increase in Denmark and Sweden in recent years.
• τ-fluvalinate: Remains highly effective with >90% mortality rates. However, a temporary drop in susceptibility was observed in 2018.
• Acetamiprid: Effective in Scandinavia, though early signs of reduced susceptibility emerged in Lithuania, echoing past trends for similar neonicotinoids.

Key Findings for Cabbage Seed Weevils:

• λ-cyhalothrin: Maintains strong efficacy overall, though a small number of populations showed decreased susceptibility.

Today, shaping the future of crop production and plant protection means expanding and utilizing knowledge about how biocontrol and factors influencing crop health along with soil biota can support crop production. The soil microbiome and how it directly or indirectly interacts with crops is essential to crop health and is a key factor in protecting soil health and governing yield and crop productivity.

On December 5th, 2024, we celebrate World Soil Day, a global initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The theme of the 10th anniversary of World Soil Day is “Caring for soils – measure, monitor, manage”, which in many ways reflects ongoing development in the crop protection area.

At Agrolab, we are proud of our 40+ years of experience in testing and supporting the registration of plant protection products and biostimulants in the EU northern regulatory zone. We are excited to follow the investments and research into leveraging soil microbiota and soil health in the implementation of biosolutions in crop production.

As a contract research organisation, we are happy to see the collaborative efforts in the northern zone to tackle the challenges in risk assessment and support the regulatory approval process on a European scale.

And things are indeed busy in the north.

A key example is the EMBARQ project (Evaluating Microbiome-Based Applications for Risk Quantification), which recently received a DKK 60 million grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Led by Professor Søren Sørensen from the Institute of Biology of University of Copenhagen, EMBARQ addresses the critical gap in risk assessment methods for microbiome-based biosolutions, such as biofertilizers and biopesticides, essential for sustainable agriculture.

Current regulatory frameworks often delay the approval process. EMBARQ aims to develop tools to better assess the health and environmental impacts of microbiome applications using advanced technologies like DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and AI.

On World Soil Day, as we reflect on the importance of preserving and enhancing soil health for sustainable agriculture, we asked Søren Sørensen to share his perspective on how EMBARQ’s ambitions to develop innovative risk assessment tools could pave the way for approving microbiological biosolutions and advancing crop protection practices:

"The EMBARQ project stands at the forefront of transforming how we assess and approve microbiological biosolutions. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as environmental DNA sequencing and AI-driven analysis, EMBARQ introduces innovative tools for risk quantification. These tools go beyond traditional methods, allowing for precise tracking of biological agents in the environment and calibrating risks against natural microbial fluctuations. 

Another very noteworthy development is the recent release of the report “Biosolutions – Regulatory Sandboxes as a tool to break down regulatory barriers ” by Professor, Dr. Juris Linda Nielsen proposing to launch a regulatory sandbox within plant protection products is another interesting development opening up new opportunities to address the regulatory approach to biosolutions in new ways.

These initiatives are well-positioned to make a significant impact on the approval process of biocontrol products.

As our CEO, Kenneth Sørensen states: "It is a truly exciting time to be in the plant protection product consulting and service industry. Our ambition is that with the expanded knowledge of soil microorganisms and developments of new risk assessment methods and the creation of regulatory sandboxes new regulatory tools and field trial methodology will also be available in the CRO part of the supply chain".

Sandra Jørgensen

Director
Head of Regulatory Consulting

Phone: +45 27 51 62 75

Email: sns@agrolab.dk