MBI to distribute Isagro's biofungicide in U.S. West

Date:03-11-2016

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.and Isagro USA, Inc (Isagro)recently announced a distribution agreement under which Marrone Bio will distribute the Isagro Trichoderma based biofungicide to agricultural crop markets in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona under the Bio-Tam® 2.0 brand.

"While seeking a distribution partner for Bio-Tam 2.0 in the U.S., we were looking for a company that understood the unique way that biologicals are used and adopted in the marketplace," said Mike Allan, President of Isagro USA. "Marrone Bio Innovations knows the value of biologicals and what they bring to integrated pest and disease management programs."

Bio-Tam 2.0 is part of the next generation of biofungicides with a proven combination of two species of beneficial Trichoderma fungi.  Bio-Tam 2.0, formulated as a wettable powder, is used in the management of soil-borne diseases including the following: Fusarium spp., Phytophthora spp., Pythium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Sclerotinia spp., Sclerotium rolfsii, Thielaviopsis basicola, and Verticillium spp, as well as Armillaria sp. and Rosellinia sp. These soil-borne root and collar rot diseases affect a wide range of vegetable, fruit, row and ornamental crops.

Bio-Tam 2.0 can be used on most crops, including fruiting vegetables, leafy vegetables and cucurbits, and is an effective tool to reduce the stress of disease infections associated with many soil-borne pathogens. Bio-Tam 2.0 aggressively colonizes the crop roots and surrounding soil. It acts as a protectant, forming a barrier that is antagonistic to disease infection. Bio-Tam 2.0 also attacks the pathogen cell walls with enzymes that actively inhibit disease infection.

"We believe this addition to our portfolio will benefit our customers by giving them a second fungicide to choose from, as well as a distinct product for the control of grapevine trunk diseases," said Pam Marrone, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Marrone Bio Innovations.

Bio-Tam 2.0 complements the Marrone Bio portfolio by adding a second option for fungal control to its product lineup. Bio-Tam 2.0 also supports the California, Oregon and Washington grape and wine grape industries with a solution for grapevine trunk disease. According to  University of California pest management guidelines, every vineyard is likely to become infected with one or more trunk diseases at some point during the life of the vineyard.

Bio-Tam 2.0 recently gained EPA registration for the grapevine trunk disease caused by Phaeomoniella spp. (part of the Esca fungal disease complex).   The Esca disease complex is responsible for significant economic losses to the wine and grape industry worldwide. A California Department of Pesticide Registration decision is pending. Bio-Tam 2.0 controls a range of soil-borne diseases and is an excellent complement when used with Regalia® Biofungicide.