Field trials · Nelspruit, South Africa
Rigorous trials that protect crops and unlock yield.
AgNova designs and runs statistical field- and demonstration trials for soil nutrition and crop-protection programmes — so registrants and growers can act on evidence, not assumption.
Who we are
Science on the ground for the programmes that feed the country.
AgNova primarily serves the research and development needs of the South African agricultural chemical industry. We specialise in statistical field- and demonstration trials for registrants, generic companies, and the wider grower community.
Our work improves how programmes are proven: combining established trial methodology with careful field craft — plot marking, calibrated applications, pest and disease assessments, and harvest protocols that keep data comparable.
Quality and professional services follow the guidelines of Act 36 of 1947. We take that responsibility seriously: feeding a growing population from the same hectares depends on knowing what actually works.
Services
Trial programmes across crop protection and nutrition.
From first spray to final weigh-in, we run the studies that show how a product or programme performs under local pressure.
Crop protection & application
Fungicides
Replicated field and demonstration trials that measure disease control, crop safety, and yield response under local pressure.
Herbicides
Weed-control programmes evaluated for efficacy, selectivity, and residual activity across soils and cropping systems.
Insecticides and acaricides
Pest- and mite-pressure assessments and treatment comparisons for orchard, vineyard, and field crops — from crawlers and foliar feeders to mites.
Biological control
Independent evaluation of biocontrol agents and programmes — establishment, pest suppression, crop safety, and fit with existing spray programmes.
Nematicides
Nematode-control trials covering product comparison, crop response, and practical application under local soil and crop conditions.
Seed treatment
Seed-applied product trials for pest, disease, and early-growth endpoints, executed to protocol from treatment through establishment.
Vertebrate pest control
Field evaluation of vertebrate pest-management options where they form part of a crop-protection programme, with clear agronomic endpoints.
Plant-growth regulators
PGR trials covering thinning, sizing, vegetative control, and harvest management with clear agronomic endpoints.
Adjuvants and formulation development studies
Compatibility, coverage, rainfastness, and formulation-development studies that show how products and spray partners perform with commercial tank mixes.
Application technique and equipment studies
Comparison of application methods and equipment — including calibrated ground and aerial / drone work — so rate, coverage, and deposit can be shown under field conditions.
Nutrition, residues & trial support
Micronutrients
Foliar and soil nutrition trials that quantify uptake, deficiency correction, and the effect on fruit set and quality.
Fertilisers
Rate, timing, and placement studies for granular and liquid programmes, designed for statistical confidence.
Bio-stimulants
Independent evaluation of biostimulant claims — stress tolerance, rooting, and yield — under commercial conditions.
Residue studies
Protocol-driven residue sampling and chain-of-custody support for registration and export-market requirements.
Study environments
Trials planned and run across the environments required by the protocol — field, orchard, vineyard, and related study settings — so results stay comparable.
Supporting work and ancillary activities
Protocol support around the trial: planting and harvesting, plot work, sampling, monitoring, and the ancillary activities that keep data usable from sowing to weigh-in.
Our work
Evidence from orchards, vineyards, and trial plots.
Why AgNova
Built for programmes that have to stand up to scrutiny.
We constantly look for better ways to run trials — pairing current best practice with practical field innovation — so farmers and producers can feed more people from the same arable land.
Act 36 of 1947
Trial work is planned and executed to the standards expected of the South African agricultural chemical industry.
Statistical rigour
Replicated designs, marked plots, and harvest protocols that stand up to registrant and regulatory review.
Hands-on field craft
From pest tapes and density frames to PPE applications — we collect the evidence, not just the photographs.
Cropping systems we know
Orchard, vineyard, and field-crop programmes, including citrus, macadamia, mango, avocado, blueberry, tomato, and cereal planting and harvest.
Safety first
Applications follow responsible-use practice. Operators work in appropriate protective equipment on every spray.
Make every hectare count
The same land must feed more people. We help programmes prove what works before it is rolled out at scale.
Contact
Let’s design the next trial.
Tell us about the crop, the question you need answered, and the window you are working towards. We will come back with a practical next step.