Provivi present pheromone-based product Pherogen at Bahia Farm Show 2022

The use of pheromones in integrated pest management is highlighted in this year's edition of the Bahia Farm Show, which AgroPages provides special face-to-face coverage.

Major global agricultural players already use these chemicals, which insects naturally produce to communicate with each other, as a smart way to “attract and eliminate” threats to crops.

One of the companies that took its pheromones to present at the Bahia Farm Show 2022 is the biotechnology startup, Provivi. The company, founded in 2013 in Los Angeles (United States), already operates in several countries. In Brazil it has closed partnerships with researchers from the MT Foundation, Unesp (São Paulo State University) and other institutions.

Provivi's flagship product is Pherogen (Z)-9-Tetradecenyl Acetate; (Z)-11-Hexadecenyl Acetate). The manufacturer described this pheromone as a tool to fight the caterpillars, in a “solid, effective and sustainable way, in cotton, corn and soybean plantations”.

Alexandre Develey, leader of Provivi in Brazil, explained that the fall armyworm is considered today the primary pest of corn crops. Therefore, combating this insect pest must be one of the priorities for rural producers.

“The fall armyworm attacks the plant from its emergence to the formation of ears, causing enormous damage to rural producers. Pherogen, a pheromone-based product from Provivi, directly contributes to biological control in the field, in a cheaper and effective way, using renewable raw materials,” Develey highlighted.

According to Areadne Zorzetto, Head of Marketing for the startup in Brazil and Argentina, Provivi's participation in the Bahia Farm Show is yet another initiative by the company to promote good agricultural practices and their benefits for Brazilian agribusiness and society.

“Provivi constantly wants to understand and solve the main problems in the field with sustainable and extremely effective products. We are committed to advancing agribusiness, in a tangible way and in synergy with the environment,” she pointed out.

Bahia Farm Show 2022 takes place in the city of Luís Eduardo Magalhães between May 31 and June 4. It is the largest agricultural technology fair in Brazil’s North and Northeast regions and has more than 360 exhibiting companies.

On the opening morning, the fair started the program of lectures and debates by the Innovation and Technology Forum, with the participation of rural producers, professors and researchers. Political officials such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro were also present at the opening.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)