First macrobiological bioinsecticide for whitefly launched in Brazil

By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages

The Brazilian company Promip announced exclusively to AgroPages the launch of a new management strategy to control the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) using two bioinsecticides, Amblymip and Bovemip.

According to the manufacturer, the solution unites two biological agents, a predatory mite and an entomopathogenic fungus.

According to Marcelo Poletti, agronomist, co-founder and CEO of Promip, the predatory mite Amblyseius tamatavensis and the fungus Beauveria bassiana form the basis of these products. Amblymip is the first and only macrobiological pesticide registered in Brazil specifically for whitefly control, the CEO emphasized.

Incorporated into the integrated pest management (IPM) techniques, these organisms control whitefly more effectively, including populations resistant to chemical active ingredients, Promip said. The company's objective is “to revolutionize the standard treatment for controlling the whitefly insect in crops.”

“The macrobiological predatory mite consumes the whitefly's eggs and nymphs within 2mm in length, while the microbiological fungus attacks nymphs and adults of the pest,” Poletti summarized.

The whitefly is present in the main crops in the country these days, including beans, soybeans, cotton and horticulture. “Uncontrolled, it causes losses of more than 50% in a field,” he added.

“The whitefly has developed resistance to active agrochemical ingredients. Consequently, the containment of the pest has become more complex. Today, there are no other effective means to control this insect than the IPM, based on the combined application of chemical insecticides and bio-inputs,” Poletti explained.

“The IPM technique has evolved all over the world in the last decade, to the point of being established as a basic prerequisite in the sustainability assessments of agricultural production.” the CEO of Promip said in conclusion.

Opened in 2006, Promip comes from the Esalqtec business incubator, at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (USP), in the state of São Paulo. Aimed at the identification, production and sale of natural pest enemies, with macrobiological and microbiological origins, Promip distributes a portfolio of 12 biopesticides.

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