Biotalys’ first biocontrol proves high efficacy in global fruit and vegetables field trial program

In Belgium, Biotalys NV, a food and crop protection company, shared results from more than 100 field trials with its first biofungicide, BioFun-1, which is on track to launch in the United States in 2022, followed by global market introductions, and can help farmers prevent crop loss and extend post-harvest protection.

The 2019 field trial program took place across the United States and key European countries, and included more than 50 efficacy trials against major pests such as Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew. These diseases considerably impact yields and quality in a wide range of fruit and vegetables crops, and are responsible for significant food losses, pre- and post-harvest.

In solo applications, Biotalys’s biofungicide, BioFun-1, provided high protection against multiple pathogens in the majority (over 85 percent) of the trials compared to the untreated control. BioFun-1 showed a clean dose responsecurve, allowing dose rate modulation to adapt to the disease pressure conditions.  Under severe disease pressure a higher dose rate provides comparable protection to the chemical reference without the challenge of residues for the growers.

In 89% of the trials, the IPM program with BioFun-1 in rotation with commercial fungicides performed on par with the standard chemical IPM program, resulting in comparable yield, fruit quality and post-harvest shelf-life while chemical residues were reduced by up to 68%.

The next field trial program is already in process. Spanning more than 150 field trials in various crops and different environmental conditions in Europe, South Africa and the United States, the 2020 field trial program will support the regulatory efficacy data package and will focus on the intrinsic activity of the biofungicide, field efficacy validation and characterization, and the impact of the end-season positioning in harvested fruits and vegetables. This field trial program complements ongoing product safety studies that will support the registration dossiers on track to be submitted later this year in the United States and Europe, as well as the development and implementation of the product supply chain.