China’s second Bt product for spodoptera frugiperda control granted registration for extended crop application

In November 2020, the wettable powder of BT engineering, bacterium G033A (Registration Certificate No. PD20171726, trade name: “Jinweijun”), which was developed by the insect resistant biotechnology research team of the biotechnology research office of the Institute of Plant Protection and produced by Wuhan Kenuo Biotechnology Co., Ltd., was granted registration for controlling corn spodoptera frugiperda in China.

It is the second Bt product and fourth microbial pesticide approved in China for controlling spodoptera frugiperda.

The field efficacy of the product is over 85%, based on data from applications in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan provinces, which is very promising. The newly extended applications also cover cotton bollworm and radish phyllotreta vittata.

It is reported that the BT engineering strain G033A was filed for national invention patent in October 2003, having been authorized in May 2007 (ZL200310100197.8). Compared to the wild BT strain, it remains highly toxicity to lepidoptera pests, such as plutella xylostella, spodoptera exigua and spodoptera frugiperda, while having increased toxicity to coleoptera pests, such as potato beetle and phyllotreta vittata. The product shows a very high field control effect, while being both safe and friendly to the environment. In July 2017, ICAMA of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs granted the strain pesticide registration, as the first GM insect resistant engineering bacteria approved in China.