Brazil Registration Watch: MAPA registers new fungicide for white mold control

Act No. 26  of the Department of Plant Protection and Agricultural Inputs of the Agricultural Defense Secretariat, published on June 9, in the Official Gazette, lists a record 64 formulated pesticides, or products that will effectively be available for use to farmers. 

Of these, 12 are low-impact or biologically based pesticides and one has an active ingredient that is unprecedented in Brazil.

Among the biological products registered, four of them use microorganisms such as Bacillus thuringiensis, Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma harzianum and Beauveria bassiana to control agricultural pests.

Concerning chemical products, a fungicide with the active ingredient fenpyrazamin, was registered for the first time in Brazil. While it is seen for the first in this country, this active ingredient is already widely used in countries such as the United States, Australia and the European Union.

“From now on, Brazilian producers will be able to use this product to control white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) in potato, bean, soybean and tomato crops,” explained the general coordinator of Pesticides and Related Products, Bruno Breitenbach.

The other products approved this time all include active ingredient(s) which previously registered in the country. The registration of generic pesticides is important to reduce market concentration and increase competition, which results in fairer trade and lower production costs for Brazilian agriculture.

All registered products were analyzed and approved by the bodies responsible for health, environment and agriculture, according to scientific criteria and in line with the best international practices.

Biological Control Products

With the registration of these 12 products, 39 low-impact products for pest control (biopesticides) were registered in 2021. In 2020, 95 products of this type were registered, a record year.

“We believe that this record will be broken again, considering the investments and interest that we have witnessed from producers,” Breitenbach stated.

Currently, there are a total of 450 low-impact products available to producers.