VOTiVO is different from any nematode product on the market.
VOTiVO bacteria are known as “root colonizing” bacteria. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) work by enhancing a plant’s rhizosphere, or the area immediately surrounding plant roots, and are responsible for creating conditions favorable to the plant’s growth. VOTiVO contains a naturally occurring soil bacteria, or rhizobacteria, that live and grow with the plant’s root system. The bacteria multiply exponentially creating a film that becomes a living barrier that occupies space and limits the number of receptor sites which could otherwise be occupied by plant pathogens such as nematodes. Nematodes use gaseous and solid exudates from the root as means to detect a root’s proximity, so reduced levels of exudates can decrease the ability of the nematodes to locate the receptor sites on the roots. The bacteria further reduce viable nematode populations by consuming exudates, depriving nematodes of an additional source of energy and nutrients. This competition deprives the nematodes of access to the root, inhibiting their ability to thrive and reproduce. Without a food source, the nematodes seek out an alternate plant host or eventually die of starvation.
VOTiVO is the first nematode product to create a living barrier of prevention.