Canada grants Koppert biofungicides

The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has granted full registration for the sale and use of Dutch bioproducts company Koppert Biological Systems' Trianum Technical (containing the active ingredient Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22), end-use products Trianum WG Biological Fungicide and Trianum G Biological Fungicide for use as commercial-class biological fungicides to suppress various root diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium ultimum, P. aphanidermatum, P. violae on greenhouse crops, field crops and greenhouse ornamentals as well as reducing symptoms of dollar spot (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa) and microdochium patch (Microdochium nivale) on turf. Trianum WG Biological Fungicide is applied as a suspension, while Trianum G Biological Fungicide is mixed directly into the substrate.The public comments have been opened until June1, 2015.

Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22 is a fungus that protects plants from disease-causing fungal pathogen. It is a beneficial fungus that out competes plant pathogenic fungi for space and nutrients, colonizing the plant roots ahead of the pathogens. It also acts as a mycoparasite by producing enzymes that break down the hyphae of the plant pathogenic fungi. The mechanisms of biocontrol with T. harzianum are complex and generally considered in competition with plant pathogens for space and substrates in the rhizosphere, mycoparasitism and the secretion of cell wall degrading enzymes, production of antifungal substances, and induction of systemic resistance.