Uruguay has 14 biopesticides registered and 18 in process

In Uruguay there are already 14 biological control agents or bio-inputs registered and 18 more in process, according to data updated at the end of 2021 by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).

Among the technologies registered in this country are parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

Sebastián Viroga, the National Coordinator of the Pesticides Project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), pointed out that bio-inputs are "a line towards the future that has an increasingly dizzying development. In Uruguay, with these actions and others, it is trying to lead and be proactive in development.”

Uruguayan Livestock Minister, Fernando Mattos, said, “There is a whole trend, and greater use of biological pest control techniques, and that has been growing. It is a path that many people are taking as an alternative and because there is also a greater awareness of issues related to sustainability and environmental protection.”

According to the Uruguayan researchers who developed these biopesticides, the trend may be a "cultural change" that is especially beneficial in closed spaces, where the use of chemicals poses a risk to worker health.

A case that illustrated this situation is the control of leaf-cutter ants, which are a frequent problem for Uruguayan agricultural producers of fruit trees, vegetables, forestry and even ranchers due to the amount of grass they can consume on farms with numerous installed anthills. It generates grass loss equivalent to what a calf consumes, or even more, they estimated from the MGAP.

To replace the use of chemicals, two fungi were developed in Uruguay: Beauveria bassiana and Trichoderma harzianum that live in the soil and can act together and combat leaf-cutter ants. The product, which includes the two mushrooms and essential orange oil that attracts ants, was developed by the Bio Uruguay institute and the Pesticides Project, an initiative of FAO and various ministries.

The ant killer is currently in the final stages of registration with the MGAP. Agronomist Alda Rodríguez, the technical-scientific coordinator of Bio Uruguay, assured that clients, both fruit and vegetable growers and other larger ones linked to afforestation, await the release of their product to the local market.

The FAO Pesticides Project and the Uruguayan government, through a financing program, have been promoting various bio-input projects in the experimental phase. In the latter case, a test with 100 producers is being completed to analyze the effectiveness of a mite in tomato and bell pepper crops.

For Natalia Martínez, Technical Director of the General Farm Directorate of the MGAP, the trend of bio-inputs is a "cultural change" to the classic application of insecticides and fungicides. She highlighted that, especially in closed spaces, the use of these chemicals posed a risk to the health and safety of the worker.

Although bio-input use is already an alternative that producers are aware of, more support is needed to spread its use, says Rodríguez. “Public institutions must be strengthened so that they have more knowledge, equipment, and can give more support to the issue and achieve greater agility in registering these products,” she added. Minister Mattos agreed since the scale was still small and the investment cost for its development was significant.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)