Brazil: ProBAT program brings together companies, invests BRL3 million in bioinsecticides against Sphenophorus levis

Focused on the biological management of the sugarcane borer (Sphenophorus levis), the Program for Bioproducts for Tropical Agriculture (ProBAT) completed its first year of activities with investments totaling BRL3 million. 

The program is an innovative and open initiative involving companies, research institutes, and universities working together for the development of bioproducts, monitoring systems, and application for pest control. 

ProBAT is led by the Biological Institute (IB), under the management of the Agribusiness Research Development Foundation (Fundepag).

Sphenophorus levis is a major sugarcane pest, capable of causing losses of up to 30 tons of sugarcane per hectare, as well as reducing the longevity of the sugarcane plantation. This insect, which mainly infects the soil, spreads across virtually all sugarcane-producing areas, especially in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

According to José Eduardo Marcondes de Almeida, project coordinator and scientific researcher at the Biological Institute, the aim of ProBAT is to minimize the effects caused by the sugarcane borer. To achieve this, they are developing mass production processes for the infective particles of the fungi, Beauveria bassiana IBCB 170 and Metarhizium anisopliae IBCB 383, for bioproduct formulations.

They also monitor the quality of the bioproduct, evaluate agronomic efficiency in the field, remote monitor pest control systems, application systems and marketing systems, and deal with the registration and certification of bioproducts. ″The companies work in partnership with researchers from the institutions, from the initial phase of identifying the necessary solutions in research lines to monitoring and guiding the project throughout its development,″ Marcondes de Almeida said.

Currently, ProBAT is supported by the companies Jacto, Nodusoja, Hizobio, Ubyfol, and Biocaz. The research is concentrated in the Biological Control URL Laboratory of IB, expected to last until 2026, with the possibility of extension.

Biological control with fungi: Challenges and opportunities

A major development front is research on liquid fermentation, which, by optimizing existing methods, can significantly reduce the time needed to produce fungi from the current 15 days current time to just three or five days. 

″This approach offers advantages in terms of time efficiency. Currently, fungal production is still carried out in rice, a complex and expensive process. With liquid fermentation, we envision a more effective and economical way to scale up production,″ Marcondes de Almeida explained.

Despite the challenges, including costs, the project represents an advanced initiative in the biological control of fungi, as well as an example of how collaborations between companies and research institutions can drive innovation and turn ideas into reality.

The program’s next stage involves scaling up production of the selected culture media and refining relevant formulation processes, said Marcondes de Almeida, who announced that promising results have already been obtained regarding the shelf life of formulations. 

″Prolonging the life of fungi in the environment is essential for the success of the project. We are working to extend this shelf life, perhaps up to a year,″ he added.

Considering the challenge faced by fungi in adverse environments, where their survival is threatened, this improvement is crucial, he further added.

Furthermore, the project is preparing for the transition from the laboratory to the field. 

″It is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of the formulations in the real environment. We are organizing ourselves and carefully planning this next phase. These steps represent not only a technical advancement but also an expansion of the scope and objectives of the project,″ Marcondes de Almeida said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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