AgBiTech's Chamariz reduces by up to 15 million caterpillars per hectare in soybean fields

The food attractant branded as Chamariz is gaining attention and adoption among major Brazilian agricultural producers. 

According to AgBiTech, this behavioral control tool for caterpillars reduces crop moth populations and can prevent up to 15 million caterpillars per hectare of soybeans.

The manufacturer claimed Chamariz's success stems from its "proven effectiveness in eliminating moths that give rise to major lepidopterans in Brazilian crops: Helicoverpa spp, the Spodoptera complex, and species such as Chrysodeixis, including Rachiplusia nu, among others."

"This is a disruptive technology that breaks paradigms and solves problems for cotton, soybean, and corn farmers facing caterpillar issues," said Daniel Caixeta, AgBiTech researcher and solution developer for the country. 

"Controlling moths through Chamariz prevents females from laying eggs and generating new caterpillars. This is possible thanks to the combination of the food attractant with an insecticide," he explained.

A recent study led by a researcher in Bahia showed soybean areas where more than 20,000 moths per hectare were captured per the Chamariz application. "Of this amount, at least ten thousand were females; considering that moths lay up to 1,500 eggs, we would potentially have about 15 million caterpillars per hectare," Caixeta added.

According to the AgBiTech researcher, serial applications of Chamariz led to an 87% reduction in caterpillar incidence in cotton plants. "This resulted in a 70% reduction in damage to reproductive structures compared to plots where the tool wasn't used," he exemplified.

Caixeta reported that AgBiTech also compared its food attractant's performance against other market solutions. Compared to sucrose, the company's technology proved highly superior in a trial conducted in Mato Grosso do Sul state: the company collected 1,131 moths in a soybean area over three days (120 treated meters) versus 81 specimens with the sugar-based solution.

When compared to another commercially branded technology distributed in the country, the numbers backed AgBiTech's solution's superiority. Chamariz resulted in the capture of 1,062 moths, compared to 539. When tested by caterpillar species, AgBiTech's food attractant eliminated 172 Spodoptera frugiperda moths versus eight from the other attractant. The exact ratio was 25 to 2 for Spodoptera albula and Spodoptera cosmioides and 341 to 101 for Plusiinae (Rachiplusia nu and Chrysodeixis includens).

"It is important for farmers to understand this tool's magnitude of potential. If well used, it will certainly ensure productivity with a very favorable cost-benefit ratio," emphasizes Caixeta. According to him, Chamariz traps are currently distributed across all regions where AgBiTech operates, especially in areas with challenging caterpillar pressure, such as Western Bahia. "If there are moths in the area, Chamariz brings them down," the executive stated.

According to AgBiTech's marketing director, Pedro Marcellino, Chamariz is a commercial product with customers in practically all regions of Brazil. "Since its control focus is on moths rather than caterpillars, it presents itself as an excellent tool as it complements management practices already used by farmers, ultimately ensuring more productivity," Marcellino highlighted.

Marcellino added that Chamariz is a behavioral control product with broad-spectrum control—it acts on various moth species—and emerged as "a cutting-edge solution that transfers benefits against the growing challenge of caterpillar infestations in Brazilian crops."

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)