Bioinsecticide registered for control of Lobesia botrana in Chile

The INIA (Institute of Agricultural Research) of La Platina, Chile, developed a fungal-based bioinsecticide that improves the control of Lobesia botrana in grape, plum, and blueberry crops, through the application of the composition by spraying.

Unlike current alternatives (applied to adult insects), this microbial biopesticide allows attacking the problem early, preventing its development to adulthood and preventing its reproduction.

According to the tests carried out in 2018 and 2019, the bioinput presented an efficiency greater than 60%. "These characteristics make this an innovative product," said Paulo Escobar Valdes, CEO & Co-founder of Bio Insumos Nativa, which markets the product.

″And, above all, I value that the solution generated at INIA is an alternative to products of chemical origin. Therefore, it is friendly to the environment and harmless to humans, and in line with the global trend of this type of product that grows by over 14% worldwide. In addition, it can be integrated with other control mechanisms for this pest," Valdes stated.

Paulo Escobar Valdes, CEO & Co-founder of Bio Insumos Nativa

After four years of development, INIA's Innovation Management Unit (UGI), led by Evelyn Silva with Dr. Eduardo Tapia and his team, with the consultancy of NewGenesis, managed to generate a technological package against the Lobesia botrana plague. After that, the researchers reached an agreement with the company Bio Insumos Nativa biotechnology company, who were the licensees of this technology.

Evelyn Silva and Eduardo Tapia, INIA

″Agriculture is a strategic sector for the country for its food security and also for its economic contribution. Advancing in innovations that make crops more sustainable allows us to improve our efficiency and competitiveness. In addition, this agreement with Bio Insumos Nativa marks an important milestone for INIA since it is a new form of institution-company collaboration,″ said Evelyn Silva, head of the Innovation Management Unit.

For Bio Insumos Nativa, "having new and innovative solutions for agriculture is essential, and this license agreement allows us to have more tools to improve agriculture, especially for the control of this important pest, constituting a great contribution to the Chilean fields. In addition, this type of technology is at the core of our business, which is to develop, produce and market organic or biological agricultural inputs, highly efficient and effective for the control of pests and diseases, harmless to the environment and the health of people."

"We trust that this transfer will be the first of several with INIA that can strengthen the transfer from science to business and help us maintain our leadership in Chile and other markets in the Americas," Valdes added.

The latest global reports position Chile as the world’s leading supplier of table grapes. As reported by the Chilean Exporters Association (ASOEX), the country exported 603,616 tons of this fruit, which corresponds to 51% of total exports during the 2019-2020 season.

The appearance of pests such as Lobesia botrana in crops threatens the export supply of table grapes in Chile. It damages the fruit and reduces the quality of the product. In extreme cases, it can cause the loss of crops and, in addition, it exposes the national vine to be treated with disinfection processes in the country of destination, thus compromising its expiration time.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)