AgroPages Exclusive:
By Mark Fu
Interviewee | Jon Giebel, Ph.D. VP, North America Commercial — Biologicals
With additional insights from | Dr. David Hubert, Director of Plant Microbe Interactions; PJ Smith, Global Product Manager
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) costs U.S. growers an estimated $1.5 billion annually—yet remains invisible to the naked eye. For decades, the industry leaned on a single genetic defense: the PI 88788 resistance trait. That shield is now cracking. Indigo Ag’s Nemora, a biological seed treatment based on Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, offers a fundamentally different approach: rather than poisoning nematodes, it colonizes their eggs and travels with the growing root system all season long. In this exclusive interview, Jon Giebel explains the science, the data, and the commercial strategy behind what Indigo calls “sealing the hatch.”
Key Figures at a Glance:
1 | The Brazil Lesson: When Farmers Stop Asking “Why Biologicals?
In Brazil, biological crop protection has already become the default for broad-acre farming. Indigo’s experience there offers a preview of where the rest of the world is heading.
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AgroPages: Brazil’s bionematicide market now accounts for 75% of total nematicide sales. What is the single biggest lesson Indigo has taken from South America, and how is it shaping your strategy for the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific? |
The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that attitudes towards biologicals will change over time as ineffective products and companies get filtered out in favor of the technology providers who live up to their claims.
In certain markets we get the question “why should I use biologicals?”, while in Brazil we’re asked “how is your biological different than those I am already using?” Farmers there have fully embraced this technology and are eager to implement high-quality products.
We have seen biological crop protection become the standard for broad acres, especially for pest prevention, with chemical solutions being used in a much more targeted or curative approach. The biostimulants are also being used broadly to ensure fertility investments are maximized. While markets like the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific will all have characteristics that make them different from Brazil, we believe that continuing to focus on quality products, accurate placement, and pricing-to-value will ensure long-term success.
2 | How Nemora Works: A Living Shield That Grows With the Root
Most chemical seed treatments protect roots for a few weeks before fading Nemora takes a fundamentally different approach.
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AgroPages: Chemical seed treatments fade within weeks. How does Nemora stay active throughout an entire growing season, and what does that mean for nematode populations over time? |
Nemora disrupts the Soybean Cyst Nematode lifecycle by reducing up to 68% of the eggs that hatch and turn into juveniles that infect and damage plant roots.
As SCN can have 4–6 lifecycles within a single growing season, Nemora can migrate from plant roots to the nearby eggs and reduce the hatch rate during each of those generations.
When you consider Nemora can reduce the hatch rate in each of those lifecycles, the product benefit is amplified into meaningful population reductions in the long-term. The “halo effect” observed with some chemical seed treatments is actually a byproduct of the plant ingesting those actives early on, causing yellowing and reduced emergence. Nemora does not produce those compounds and actually stimulates plant growth—leading to the same or better yield uplift in fields with confirmed SCN pressure, without adverse early-season effects.
3 | The PI 88788 Crisis: Can Biologicals Extend a Fading Genetic Shield?
The vast majority of U.S. soybean varieties carry a single resistance trait—PI 88788—that is increasingly overwhelmed by evolving SCN populations. The industry needs a Plan B.
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AgroPages: PI 88788 is failing. How do you position Nemora as a “trait extender” for seed companies, and could biologicals eventually carry the primary burden of nematode protection? |
The PI 88788 story is a cautionary tale for soybean growers—it shows the risk of relying on a single tool without a broader integrated pest management approach. Because SCN can complete multiple lifecycles in one growing season, depending on just one trait increases the likelihood of resistance developing over time.
Our products help bridge that technology gap by providing living active ingredients that grow with the plant throughout the season. They complement genetic traits and outlast chemical treatments, which naturally degrade with rain and over the course of the season.
It’s worth acknowledging that integrated pest management plans are great on paper, but often impractical for growers to implement. Farmers are balancing many different trait needs when making seed selections. Rotating nematode resistance traits would be ideal, but adds even more complexity.
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What is CLIPS? | CLIPS is Indigo’s proprietary dry-format seed treatment system that applies biological products automatically at planting time—eliminating the need for growers to manually handle powders or liquids. It can be deployed at the retailer or seed company level, making it as simple as a bolt-on trait. |
The CLIPS seed treatment system solves this problem. Delivering Nemora through CLIPS allows seed companies and retailers to bolt on this SCN control product to the seed directly. In this format, Nemora acts in a similar manner as a resistance trait but has the additional benefit of being moved from variety to variety depending on customer preference.
4 | The CLIPS Revolution: From Indigo’s Pipeline to Industry Platform
CLIPS was designed to solve biologicals’ biggest practical barrier: instability and inconvenience. But Indigo’s ambition goes beyond its own products.
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AgroPages: With the recent GROWMARK partnership, does Indigo see CLIPS becoming an industry standard—one that could deliver third-party biologicals alongside your own portfolio? |
In addition to solving logistical and stability challenges, CLIPS saves growers time by eliminating the need to manually apply powders at planting. When using the CLIPS device at the retailer or seed company level, product is automatically applied to seed at the time of planting—meaning growers never have to tear open a pouch, scoop powder into the planter while the wind is blowing, or manually mix seed treatments in the field.
Indigo believes CLIPS can be the industry standard for delivering impactful seed treatments regardless of whether it’s a biotrinsic product from Indigo’s pipeline or third-party technology. The goal has always been to deliver the solutions growers need, not just the biological products Indigo has developed.
While we have introduced CLIPS across the biotrinsic portfolio, we are also actively working on multiple pilot programs with strategic partners to demonstrate this can be replicated for any product that can be developed as a dry, seed-applied product.
5 | Making the Invisible Visible: Data, Win Rates, and ROI
Biologicals have long suffered from a “consistency gap”—they work in some fields but not others. Indigo’s answer is precision placement backed by data.
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AgroPages: Biologicals have a reputation for inconsistency. How does Indigo decide where Nemora will actually deliver results, and how does the SCN Profit Checker help a skeptical grower see the math before committing? |
Indigo does not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we embrace targeting products to areas where they can have the best fit for retailers and growers. A nematicide like Nemora is not going to be effective if it’s used on areas without harmful nematode populations; fungicides will be less effective on resistant varieties with elite treatment packages; biostimulants will have less impact on acres where nutrition, irrigation, and existing biology are all dialed in.
The data we collect from our broad field trial programs helps us better understand circumstances and environments where we can maximize success, while identifying areas we should avoid. The last mile is working with customers to leverage their data to place the best product that fits their needs.
The SCN Profit Checker is a great tool for growers to translate their nematode count data into digestible economic impact. You can input the nematode egg count from soil samples along with that field’s pH, sand content, and yield goal, then receive an actual bu/ac or dollar loss estimate based on all variables. It moves the conversation from “high vs. low” SCN counts towards what is the economic risk based on the grower’s own data.
While the SCN Profit Checker does not calculate a product-specific ROI, it helps growers determine whether the yield loss risk of that area is great enough to justify nematicide investment or if those dollars should be utilized elsewhere.
6 | Beyond Pest Control: Root Growth, Drought Resilience, and Phosphorus
Nemora’s benefits extend well beyond nematode suppression. In an era of climate volatility, the “co-benefits” may matter just as much as the primary function.
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AgroPages: Nemora has been shown to increase root mass by 26% under drought and assist in phosphorus solubilization. In your commercial messaging, how do these co-benefits compare to direct nematode control? |
In an era of climate volatility, these co-benefits have become just as critical as direct pest suppression because they shift the focus from simple protection to total crop resilience. While Nemora’s primary job is managing nematodes, the 26% increase in root mass and phosphorus solubilization turn the product into a foundational tool for surviving unpredictable weather.
Instead of just paying to control an individual pest, growers are investing in a product that helps the plant produce a larger root system that better handles drought and makes better use of expensive fertilizers.
It is easy to forget that nematodes decrease yield mainly through the damage they cause to roots—reducing water and nutrient uptake. So these co-benefits also represent another powerful way that Nemora protects plants from the negative effects of nematodes.
7 | What’s Next: Soil Health, New Microbes, and Foliar Frontiers
Indigo sits at the intersection of biologicals, soil health, and regenerative agriculture. What does the next chapter look like?
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AgroPages: Looking toward 2030, do you see biological seed treatments bundled with carbon sequestration incentives as a single sustainability package? And what new microbial modes of action is Indigo investigating beyond Pseudomonas? |
Indigo believes biological inputs will continue to grow in importance for regenerative and sustainable crop production. Before even considering carbon sequestration claims, there is compelling data to show biological inputs can impact the microbial community in the soil—just as changes in tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops all alter the rhizosphere.
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Science Note | PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) are beneficial soil bacteria that enhance plant growth by improving nutrient availability, producing growth hormones, and suppressing pathogens. Independent data shows Nemora’s Pseudomonas actively recruits these bacteria when applied in row crop production. |
This is an example of a biological product improving soil health, even though it does not currently qualify for payment as a practice change or a grain premium.
Indigo has several exciting projects in the works. We are evaluating the efficacy of our existing products across a broadened portfolio of formulations to provide user flexibility, while also broadening crop application and spectrum of activity to improve the value proposition for growers. Indigo is also entering into new areas, including foliar product development for biologically derived insect and disease control.
About the Experts
Jon Giebel, Ph.D.
Jon Giebel is a commercial and product strategy leader in agricultural biologicals, currently serving as Vice President, North America Commercial — Biologicals at Indigo Ag. He oversees go-to-market strategy, channel expansion, and revenue growth across the biologicals portfolio. Since joining Indigo in 2021, he has guided Product Strategy, Global Product Management & Licensing, and the Seed Applied Technology organization. In early 2025, he established Indigo’s first dedicated Seed Applied Technology function. Jon previously spent nearly a decade at Bayer CropScience in microbiology and R&D strategy. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from Cornell University.
Dr. David Hubert, Ph.D.
Dr. Hubert received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined Indigo Ag in 2019 after working on novel crop genetic traits and biological control of plant pathogens. He currently serves as Director of Plant Microbe Interactions, leading a research team at Research Triangle Park, NC, focused on discovering beneficial microbes for nutrient efficiency, soilborne pathogen protection, and nematode control.
PJ Smith
PJ Smith is a Global Product Manager at Indigo Ag, where he has worked since 2017. Starting as a co-op from Northeastern University in technology licensing, he moved into product management in 2020, building the company’s long-term roadmap. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies & International Affairs from Northeastern and is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA program at the University of Cincinnati.
About Indigo Ag
At Indigo Ag, we view every challenge in agriculture as a chance to drive progress. Our mission is to help farmers and agribusinesses succeed by applying leading science and technology to create powerful biological solutions that boost today’s yields and profitability while protecting soil health for the future.
Our biotrinsic® Endophytes and other innovations deliver targeted biological products that shield crops with bionematicides and biofungicides, fuel productivity with enhanced nutrient efficiency, and adapt plants to stress with drought-tolerant microbes. All of these products and others are available in the patented CLIPs seed treatment system that seamlessly integrates biological seed treatments into conventional farming and retail operations. Learn more at indigoag.com