AgroPages-FMC launches biofungicide Regalia Maxx in Brazil-Agricultural news

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FMC has announced the launch of its first biofungicide Regalia Maxx to make a preventive control of the Early Blight (Alternaria Solani) on tomato and potato crops in Brazil. The announcement was made during the 22nd Hortitec, a local agricultural expo aimed to fruit and vegetable solutions.

Regalia Maxx is the first plant extract-based fungicide approved in Brazil and is the first biopesticide with Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR), a complex mode of action which creates a defense response in the treated plants and stimulates additional biochemical pathways that strengthen the plant structure and act against the pathogen.

The research and development coordinator of biological products at FMC, Giuliano Pauli, highlighted the importance of tomatoes, mentioning the surface of 39,000 hectares during the 2013/2014 season, and explained the benefits of the new solution.

"We need to increase productivity and control diseases efficiently at the same time without increasing the application of chemical products. With this proposal, we will expand our portfolio with Regalia Maxx, which acts inducting a system resistance, intensifying the production of natural fungicides though the plant's metabolism," said the coordinator.

Pauli also says that the solution, which is based on Reynoutria sachalinensis extract, is widely used in other countries to control a big range of diseases in different relevant crops. In the United States, for instance, the product is registered for over 50 cultivations.

The FMC expert recommends that the application should be started as a prevention and with the first appearances of the diseases, there should breaks of seven to 10 days of application.

"In climatic conditions favorable to diseases or when the applications start with elevated pressure of the disease, Regalia Maxx should compose the management on rotation with traditional chemical products, "defended Pauli

"This is a internationally recognized biochemical fungicide because of its innovation to control diseases, as it mode of action has no toxicity. Currently in Brazil, we just have the registration for tomatoes and potatoes," explained Pauli.

Regalia Maxx was developed by US company Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI) and received registration in Brazil in last December on tomatoes, potatoes, and dried beans. MBI is partnering with FMC to expand the label to include a broader array of crops and diseases, such as citrus and row crops.