MBI Launches VENERATE™ Broad-Spectrum Bioinsecticide

The US biopesticide company Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI)recently launched the VENERATE™ bioinsecticide, which is a new tool to help growers control crop-damaging insect pests, fight the development of insect resistance, and reduce pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables. The product is now available in time for the 2014 growing season.

This new broad-spectrum bioinsecticide is active against a wide array of chewing and sucking insects and mites and features novel modes of action that stem from a diverse set of chemical compounds extracted from a newly discovered bacterium.

“Today’s growers are faced with ever-increasing regulatory restrictions and an evolving problem of insects developing resistance to chemical pesticides with a single mode of action. Growers who traditionally employ those types of insecticides for crop protection can now leverage VENERATE—which has multiple modes of action and a very low potential for insect resistance—to help them extend the useful life of chemical pesticides that have high resistance potential,” said Jim Lappin, MBI Vice President of Product Management.

VENERATE is labeled for a wide array of crops and is approved for use in conventional and organic systems. It is available in a liquid formulation with flexibility to apply by ground or air, no limit on the number of applications allowed per season, and a minimal four hour re-entry interval (REI). The product is non-toxic to fish, birds, and most beneficial insects including honeybees, and also has the advantage of a zero-day pre-harvest interval (PHI) and an exemption from MRL (maximum residue level) tolerances—a measure of pesticide residue limits that must be met for most food crop exports.

“Reducing growers’ and produce buyers’ concern over pesticide residues is another important benefit of VENERATE,” adds Lappin. “Virtually all produce that is exported from the U.S., and a significant portion that is imported into the U.S., is now subject to testing for pesticide residues. VENERATE—like its companion product GRANDEVO®—is exempt from maximum residue level tolerances. Combine this with the zero-day PHI and growers can protect the quality and marketability of their crops right up to the day of harvest and greatly reduce the chance their crops will be rejected because of residues.”

Alan Schreiber, Ph.D., an independent researcher with Agriculture Development Group, Inc. in Washington state, has conducted field trials with VENERATE against numerous pests in a variety of crops. He is enthusiastic about how VENERATE’s unique and novel modes-of-action can be used as a rotational partner with other chemistries to help prevent resistance in crop-damaging pests such as green peach aphids and potato psyllids in his clients’ fields. He also sees the MRL tolerance exemption as a key benefit, “The Pacific Northwest is a very export oriented market. A huge quantity of our vegetables and fruits get shipped to Canada, Mexico, and the Pacific Rim countries. Northwest growers have had horrific issues with MRLs. VENERATE, with its combination of efficacy and MRL exemption could help growers avoid pesticide residue issues and the economic penalties of having their shipments rejected.”

VENERATE joins REGALIA® Biofungicide and GRANDEVO® Bioinsecticide in the lineup of MBI crop protection products and is the first biopesticide that has been developed from the company’s in-house discovery screen process.

The product will be sold as VENERATE XC in all U.S. states except California where it will be sold as VENERATE. VENERATE XC is currently registered in more than 35 states with additional registrations pending. Registration of VENERATE in California is also pending. Growers should check with their local ag chemical retailer or Marrone Bio Innovations representative for product availability in their state.