Prohydrojasmon, a plant growth regulator produced by Zeon Corporation (President: Kimiaki Tanaka), has been selected as one of the adaptation technologies for promoting the Climate Change Adaptation Program announced by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The Climate Change Adaptation Program was announced in August 2015 as a comprehensive compilation of countermeasures against global warming that includes adaptation technologies for mitigating declines in the production volume and quality of agricultural products.*1

The adaptation technology selected for the program is a new one in which Zeon's Prohydrojasmon is sprayed in combination with gibberellin*2 to prevent rind puffing in Satsuma mandarin oranges -- the symptom caused by high temperatures and heavy rains during the fruit growth period. The application is prospected to be widespread after 2015.

Plant growth regulators are agrochemical agents for controlling the growth of plants to increase quality and yields, ensure stable harvests under poor conditions and to reduce the need for farm labor. Zeon's Prohydrojasmon, which has same activation potency as the plant hormone, methyl jasmonate, was developed based on a technology transferred from RIKEN under the Japan Science and Technology Agency and manufacturing technology for Zeon's jasmine note aroma chemical.

Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. and Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd. are the distributors of Jasmomate® Ekizai*3, an agrochemical formulation containing Prohydrojasmon as its active ingredient

Zeon will continue harnessing its unique technologies to develop products which are effective to preserving the global environment and a sustainable society.

*1 Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (in Japanese)
*2 Plant growth regulator used to improve the growth of fruit trees, flowering, fruit growth, etc.
*3 Jasmomate® is a registered trademark of Zeon Corporation.

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