Fungal and Bacterial Pesticides Registered or Launched by Syngenta, FMC, ADAMA, Mitsui and others in 2020-2023

Date:08-18-2023

Fungal and bacterial pesticides are used to combat a variety of pests that cause the destruction of the agricultural economy. Such microbial pesticides have helped reduce the use of chemical pesticides and residues, and assisted in resistance management.

Below is an overview of fungal and bacterial pesticides registered or launched by multinationals and other companies in 2020-2023.

Bacillus velezensis functions as both fungicide and nematicide

Bacillus, containing a large number of species, are important plant growth promoting rhizobacteria that are widely used in crop production around the world. These bacteria produce various biologically active secondary metabolites that inhibit the growth of plant pathogens and harmful rhizospheric microorganisms. Bacillus also release substances that act on crops to facilitate growth and development. Benefitting from the ability of endospore formation, Bacillus can survive in hot and dry conditions, and be formulated into stable dry powders with long shelf lives.

Bacillus velezensis is one of the most widely used Bacillus species, due to its ability to protect crops from pests. For example, B. velezensis FZB42 (formerly B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42), produces bioactive metabolites, including amylocyclicin, bacilysin, bacillomycin-D, bacillaene, difficidin, fengycin, macrolactin, plantazolicin, surfactin and others, which suppress pathogens [1]. In addition, the metabolite bacillibactin plays a key role in promoting the acquisition of Fe³⁺ from minerals and organic compounds in the soil, which inhibits pathogens from absorbing these essential substances [2]. B. velezensis combats not only bacterial and fungal phytopathogens, but also inhibits nematode reproduction, egg hatching and juvenile survival [3]. There is also an interaction between the beneficial bacteria and plants that involves protection. Surfactin secreted by B. velezensis FZB42 can enhance the defense responses of plant roots [4]. Plant roots can release some molecules that attract B. velezensis that move towards the root surface to form biofilms, which promote plant growth and protect plants from infectious microbes by releasing antimicrobial compounds. 

B. velezensis secretes metabolites that promote plant growth. One of these metabolites is cytokinin [5]. Some B. velezensis releases volatile organic compounds that boost crop growth by regulating auxin homeostasis [6]. 

B. velezensis can be found in several multinationals’ new product launches. For example, Syngenta launched ARVATICO and CERTANO, which both contain B. velezensis isolate CNPSo 3602, to control nematodes and pathogens for the Brazilian market. ARVATICO, in Syngenta's Seedcare portfolio, was registered to combat nematodes, such as Heterodera glycines, Pratylenchus brachyurus and Meloidogyne incognita, as well as diseases, such as Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani. CERTANO is Syngenta's first BioSolution with bionematicide, biofungicide and growth promoting action in one formulation for sugarcane, providing immediate and prolonged effects compatible with other products.

Beauveria bassiana - The most common fungal insecticide

Beauveria bassiana is a widely studied entomopathogenic fungus that causes white muscardine disease in various insects, such as whiteflies, aphids, thrips, grasshoppers and mites, but it is generally considered safe to beneficial insects. Unlike some bacterial and viral pesticides, it does not need to be ingested by the host to cause infection, and simple contact to its spores can infect a host. B. bassiana grows rapidly in the host and consumes its body while secreting toxins, such as beauvericin, bassianin, bassianolide, beauverolides, tenellin, oosporein, oxalic acid, calcium oxalate crystals, and beauvericins [7-9]. The same toxins may have different modes of action on pathogenicity in different hosts, while their lethal mechanisms could include destroying the host’s epidermis to penetrate the hyphae, absorbing nutrients and water in the host’s body, hindering the functions of the immune system, blocking of the host’s spiracles, disrupting nerve conduction and others [10-12]. When the host is dead, the fungus grows toward the outside of the host through the cuticle and covers the corpse with white mold, which produces a large number of infective spores to infect more hosts.

B. bassiana provides other benefits to plants. It colonizes various crops, such as wheat, soybean, rice, bean, onion, tomato, palm, grape, potato and cotton, and facilities crop growth. As an endophyte, it can be applied through foliar spraying, soil irrigation, seed treatment and other methods [13].

However, some factors limit the widespread adoption of such biopesticides. It takes a long time to kill insects. B. bassiana is most effective when humidity is above 90% and the temperature is 25°C. It does not grow when temperatures are above 32 °C. And infecting or colonizing mammals is possible under normal circumstances.

Several companies launched/registered B. bassiana-based insecticides over the past three years. 

Syngenta provides ARBIOGY (B. bassiana ATCC 74040) in Italy to control thrips, mites, leafhoppers, whiteflies, fruit and cherry flies that affect vines, stone fruit, and floral and ornamental crops. This oil dispersion was developed for the long conservation of spores and the optimum efficacy of microbes in the product. 

Symborg’s B. bassiana 203 is approved by the European Commission to be included as an insecticide. According to the company, this strain shows great efficacy against insect pests and is tolerant to adverse environmental conditions, as it was isolated from extreme conditions. Due to its mode of actions, the risk of resistance developed by pests is very low. Symborg is developing new formulations and applications for the stain to meet the demand for the needs of different farming practices.

Purpureocillium lilacinum - A bionematicide with great prospect

Purpureocillium lilacinum occurs naturally in the soil and rhizospheres of many crops, as well as nematodes and their eggs. P. lilacinum controls nematodes by invading and damaging their eggs. P. lilacinum forms an appressorium and secretes chitinase enzyme to degrade chitosan and penetrate nematode eggshell. Afterwards, its hyphae develop inside the egg and consume nutrients from the host. As a nematicide, it has a wide range of nematode hosts, such as root-knot, burrowing, cyst, root lesion, reniform and false root [14].

P. lilacinum has other advantages. It facilitates crop growth and improves the quality of the harvest. P. lilacinum is safe for humans and is exempt from maximum food residue level of China’s administration. It can grow at a wide range of temperatures (8–38°C) and pH [15-16]. Such microbe is considered as one of the most promising and practicable bionematicides.

Mitsui’s BIOSTAT WP, which contains P. lilacinum, is registered in Brazil. The product controls the nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne javanica. Nematodes are one of the most common pests in Brazil that affect numerous crops, such as cotton, potatoes, sugarcane, carrots, tobacco, cucumbers and soybeans. Due to its microbiological ingredient, the product can be used in any culture affected by these nematodes.

Microbes + other biologicals/chemicals, more sustainable solutions

One microbe applied with other microbial species or chemicals can increase the efficacy of formulations, decrease the use of chemical pesticides, and reduce microbial adopting limitation, due to its slow action and other factors.

FMC’s Provilar and ADAMA’s Protege are formulated with B. velezensis and other microbes to provide higher efficacy through the different modes of action of their active ingredients. They are compatible with other pesticides. FMC stated that Provilar increases control efficiency in association with chemicals.

Studies show two other examples with B. bassiana. When cotton is inoculated with B. bassiana and Purpureocillium lilacinum, the growth of the crop is promoted and the biomass is increased [17]. The combination of B. bassiana and spinetoram achieves higher efficacy in pest control compared to either ingredients that are used alone [18].

Another research shows that a synergistic effect existed between B. velezensis SDTB038 and fluopimomide. The combination of the two ingredients has the potential to decrease the use of the chemical, fluopimomide [19].

Developing integrated tools with mixtures of microbes and chemicals is a huge challenge, but the demand for such solutions is considerable, as they are the most suitable practices for today’s regeneration agriculture, considering that conventional farming is still the major power for food production. It is important to ensure that microbes are not affected by chemicals when they are mixed together, which is a difficult task for R&D. However, new ingredients are being discovered every day, and the improvement of formulation technologies will help provide growers with novel solutions for more sustainable crop production.

Table 1. Part of companies registered/launched fungal and bacterial pesticides in 2020-2023

Provider	Product	Active ingredient	Benefit	Region
Syngenta	CERTANO	Bacillus velezensis isolate CNPSo 3602	Providing bionematicide, biofungicide and growth-promoting action	Brazil
Syngenta	Arvatico	Bacillus velezensis isolate CNPSo 3602	Control of nematodes and diseases in all crops	Brazil
ADAMA	Protege	Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus   velezensis, Bacillus   amyloliquefaciens	Control of nematodes and pathogens	Brazil
FMC	Provilar	Bacillus velezensis strain RTI301, Bacillus subtilis strain RTI477	Promoting leaf spot and white mold protection	Brazil
Syngenta	ARBIOGY	Beauveria bassiana ATCC 74040	Control of thrips, mites, leafhoppers, whiteflies, fruit and cherry flies	Italy
Symborg		Beauveria bassiana 203	Control of insect pests	Europe
Andermatt Madumbi	Eco-Bb	Beauveria bassiana strain R44	suppressing Mealybug and Red spider mite	South   Africa
Andermatt   Biocontrol	Bb-Protec	Beauveria bassiana	Control of sucking pests in vegetables and fruit crops	Tunisia
Koppert	Boveril EVO	Beauveria bassiana	Control of insect pests	Brazil
Anatis   Bioprotection	BioCeres EC	Beauveria bassiana strain ANT-03	Control of whiteflies, aphids and thrips	USA, Canada
Mitsui & Co. (Brasil) S.A.	BIOSTAT WP	Purpureocillium lilacinum	Control of Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne javanica	Brazil
Certis Biologicals	MeloCon LC	Purpureocillium lilacinum strain 251	Control of nematodes	California
Agrivalle	Profix	Purpureocillium lilacinum, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis	Control of Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus brachyurus	Brazil
NOVAGRO-AG   SAC	AWESOME AG	Trichoderma harzianum	Control of powdery mildew, blackworm, gray mold, downy mildew, rust, black sigatoka on banana, grapes, coffee, cocoa, strawberry, various fruit trees, vegetables	Peru, Colombia
De Sangosse	Restrict	Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain   CPQBA 040-11DRM 01, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain CPQBA 040-11DRM 04	Control of foliar diseases: Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, Colletotrichum truncatum, Corynespora cassiicola, Phaeosphaeria maydis and Ramularia areola	Brazil
Syngenta	Taegro	Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain   FZB24	Control of diseases	Portugal,   Spain, Italy etc.
Bayer	Minuet	Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713	Control of soil-borne diseases such as rhizoctonia root rot, black scurf and stem   canker, and pink rot and root rot caused by fusarium, phytophthora and pythium	Canada
Bayer	Sonata	Bacillus pumilis	Control of pathogens on wine and table grapes	Italy
BASF	Votivo Prime	Bacillus firmus	Seed treatment to control nematodes	Brazil
UPL	Nimaxxa	Bacillus subtilis strain CH4000 and Bacillus paralicheniformis strains CH0273 and CH2970	Control of nematodes	Brazil

This article was originally published in the magazine 2023 Biologicals Special.

References

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[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9995398/

[19] https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-08-20-1666-RE