California OKs Marrone Bio Innovations’ Venerate XC bioinsecticide

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI) has announced the availability of Venerate XC bioinsecticide in California. Venerate XC is a liquid microbial-based, contact and ingestion insecticide that degrades insect exoskeletons and interferes with molting of chewing insects, nymphs and adult sucking insects, as well as with flies and mites. Available in California in 2015, Venerate is labeled for use at 4 to 8 quarts per acre. With the recent California Department of Pesticide Regulation approval,Venerate XC is labeled at a lower rate of 1 to 4 quarts per acre.

Tony Torres, MBI’s Insecticide and Nematicide Product Manager, said, “We are pleased that California growers now have access to this formulation. This is an important product for California because it allows growers to use Venerate XC at a lower rate, providing more economically efficient pest management.”

Venerate XC is approved for use on a wide variety of California’s fruit, vegetable, vine and nut crops in conventional integrated pest management (IPM) and organic systems. It is an easy-handling liquid formulation with flexibility to apply by ground or air. There is no limit to the number of applications allowed per season, (unlike many chemical products that have high risk for pest resistance development), and Venerate XC has 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.

With a unique mode of action, Venerate XC is an effective addition to a conventional IPM program. When used along with MBI’s other bioinsecticide, Grandevo, which is also a broad-spectrum insecticide, farmers have two bioinsecticides to help with resistance and residue management. When used in an IPM program, Grandevo is best used early to help suppress insect populations. Venerate XC should be used first if adult insects or mites are present. MBI’s biological insecticides are not intended for use as rescue treatments, but rather are preventative, meaning they are most effective when used before target populations are at a critical threshold.