AgraQuest, Inc. is pleased to announce that Rhapsody^® Biopesticide is now available for organic growers. Rhapsody controls fungal and bacterial diseases of ornamental crops, including annual and perennial flowering plants, tropical foliage, and trees and shrubs. Rhapsody is now approved for use in organic production by OMRI and the National Organic program.

Rhapsody is the only product to provide effective control of a wide array of both bacterial and fungal pathogens, while providing unsurpassed plant, human and environmental safety. It is the only biological bactericide/fungicide that is an effective alternative to coppers for bacterial diseases, such as Erwinia and Xanthomonas and to synthetic chemicals for fungal pathogens such as powdery mildews and Botrytis gray mold. With the lowest re-entry interval of any product (4 hours), Rhapsody provides growers flexibility and labor costs savings.

"The increase in demand for organic flowers is growing very quickly - our growers will be thrilled to have a new tool for effective disease control,” said Gerald Prolman, CEO of Organic Bouquet, Inc.

"We are pleased that both conventional and organic flower and nursery growers now have an effective and economical tool for their broad spectrum disease control," said Chris Coombs, Vice President of US Business. Rhapsody is based on a naturally occurring patented strain of Bacillus subtilis discovered and developed by AgraQuest’s scientists. Equipped with a suite of naturally occurring antifungal and antibacterial lipopeptide compounds, Rhapsody utilizes multiple modes of action, which make it difficult for pathogens to develop resistance. Therefore, it is a powerful tool when used in a program with chemical fungicides that are weakened by resistance development.

AgraQuest is a biotechnology company that focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing effective, safe and environmentally friendly natural pest management products for agricultural, institutional and home markets The company sells Serenade®, Sonata® and Ballad™ Biofungicides. Pending at the EPA are Arabesque™ Biofumigant and Virtuoso™ Bioinsecticide. In 2003, AgraQuest won the prestigious Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the EPA for the discovery and commercialization of Serenade Biofungicide. In 2004, AgraQuest received a Red Herring Top 100 Private Company Award and a World Technology Award.

Organic Bouquet is the world’s first online organic florist.