CARY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored Arysta LifeScience North America with the prestigious Ozone Layer Protection Award for bringing the breakthrough fumigant MIDAS^® to market. MIDAS^®, a broad spectrum fumigant used before planting, controls a wide array of pests, weeds and plant diseases. Registered by the EPA for use in agricultural crops and turf in 2007, MIDAS^® does not deplete the ozone layer and has been proven in commercial fields to be as effective as methyl bromide at lower use rates.

Arysta LifeScience and a team of independent scientists were recognized during a special ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 21.

The Ozone Layer Protection Award places Arysta among the world’s most accomplished individuals and organizations working to protect the Earth’s ozone layer. Arysta LifeScience is one of only three corporations honored this year. The other recipients are Kraft Foods and Hill Phoenix, Inc., a commercial refrigeration company.

“This recognition by the EPA is a great honor for Arysta worldwide and it validates our longstanding belief in the chemistry and benefit MIDAS^® brings to the agricultural industry,” said Bill Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Arysta LifeScience North America. “The best agricultural chemistry researchers in the nation have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market. As a result, we have already helped eliminate tons of an ozone depleting substance from being released into our environment.”

MIDAS^® is one of the most comprehensively researched agricultural compounds ever brought to market. The company licensed iodomethane (an active ingredient in MIDAS^®) from the University of California Riverside and spent seven years bringing it to market. Arysta conducted a full-scale research program, extensive toxicology studies and developed state-of-the-art pharmacokinetic and exposure models to support registration of MIDAS^®.

Researchers recognized with Arysta LifeScience North America include Husein Ajwa, University of California-Davis, USDA-ARS; Joe Noling, University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center; Dan Chellemi, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory; Erin Rosskopf, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory; Greg Browne, University of California-Davis Department of Plant Pathology; and Frank Sances, Pacific Ag Research, Inc.

Arysta has been ramping up production of MIDAS^® to increase availability to growers in the face of future methyl bromide reductions mandated by the Montreal Protocol.

Since registration, MIDAS^® has been used to fumigate thousands of acres in the southeastern United States. Growers using MIDAS^® say results are comparable, and often better, than those achieved with methyl bromide. Growers also say the operational transition to iodomethane is easily made, allowing them to focus on delivering high-yield and healthy products to market.

“The discovery of Iodomethane was truly groundbreaking,” said Royce Schulte, Product Manager for MIDAS^®. “MIDAS^® effectively controls diseases, nematodes, weed seeds and insects that threaten high value crops, yet does not contribute to ozone depletion. Since the phase out of methyl bromide began in the 1990s, we have sought an alternative that delivers comparable results and does not pose harm or risk to the environment. MIDAS^® is that alternative.”

MIDAS^® is approved for use on high value crops including ornamentals, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, tree fruit, nuts and vines as well as turf. MIDAS^® is registered in 47 U.S. states and is available through select fumigant distributors.

About the Award

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Ozone Layer Protection Awards in 1990 to recognize outstanding contributions to the protection of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. Since then, 533 individuals, companies, organizations, and teams from 49 countries have earned this honor. The recipients of each year's awards have demonstrated originality and public purpose, persuasive moral and organizational leadership, and elimination of emissions of ozone-depleting substances. EPA’s Ozone Layer Protection Awards are particularly prestigious because nominees compete globally against the notable accomplishments of many other potential winners, and winners are selected by previous winners. Starting in 2009, the Ozone Layer Protection Awards are being expanded to include notable achievements to improve public awareness of the health impacts of overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.

About Arysta

Arysta LifeScience Corporation is focused on helping our customers cultivate business growth through the development, marketing and distribution of innovative, high quality chemical solutions for today’s dynamic agroscience and life science marketplace. With a focus on emerging countries and niche markets, Arysta LifeScience manages a portfolio of more than 150 products. In addition to its Tokyo headquarters, the company maintains more than 40 offices and subsidiaries that serve 25 countries worldwide. Since its founding in 2001, Arysta LifeScience has become one of the fastest growing companies in the industry and is currently the world’s largest privately held agrochemical company. Arysta LifeScience is backed by the strength of Industrial Equity Investments Limited (IEIL), an international investment company.