Ecostyle will pay upfront and milestone payments of $240,000, plus royalties once sales of the products begin.

3AEY is Eden's lead product and a terpene based fungicide.

Terpenes are natural compounds which function as defence mechanisms in many plant groups and are released in response to infection, stress or mechanical injury.

Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Ecostyle was formed in 1993 in order to meet the "green" demands from the amateur gardener and is active in more than 10 countries within Europe with sales of over €11.5m in 2008.

The agreement covers various, but not all, territories within northern and central European markets and also provides Ecostyle with an option to extend the licence in the future to cover the remaining EU member states and the countries within the European Free Trade Association.

Eden Research managing director Clive Newitt said: "This is an exciting development for Eden.

"Our products present an ideal solution for the farming industry and amateur gardeners alike as they are naturally derived and as effective as traditional chemicals, as well as being commercially very competitive.

"Ecostyle is a well regarded company in its sector, known for its pragmatic approach to developing and commercialising products within the amateur gardening industry and we are delighted with their endorsement of our product."

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire