Meeting on biological control discusses importance of new bioagents

In his presentation on biological control of plant diseases, at an event at the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp), on March 29, researcher from Embrapa Meio Ambiente (Jaguariúna, SP) Wagner Bettiol spoke about the history of research in this area, which began in 1950, and in 2015 recorded more than 5.000.000 ha treated with this method.

In Brazil, 50 companies produce agents that act in the biological control of pests, whether macro-organisms (insects, mites) or micro-organisms (viruses, fungi, bacteria and nematodes), as well as products that combat diseases. In total, they represent 1,7% of biological formulators in the world, according to ABCBIO. The United States has 50,4% of the world's share of this market and 41% of product patents.

Even with all this increase, there is still not enough availability of bioagents for farmers to use in different phytosanitary problems. Other problems reported by the researcher are the inadequate selection of biocontrol agents, lack of studies on agroecological conditions of use, large-scale multiplication, formulation of bioagents and application technology, verification of compatibility with other products and agricultural techniques, few sources funding and discontinuity of research, in addition to the insufficient number of researchers in the area. Associated with this, there is the culture of farmers, agronomists and researchers linked to chemical control. According to the researcher, the situation is even more worrying for the biological control of invasive plants.

As challenges to be overcome, Bettiol believes that it would be necessary to reach the level that biological pest control is in Brazil, both in terms of number of professionals and research funding.

The researcher also warns of the need for the main research and teaching institutions to have specialists and disciplines on this topic and that professionals from different areas must work together to develop products. He also highlighted the need to create a collection of cultures specifically for biocontrol agents.

In his presentation he suggested the launch of specific demand notices for studies on biological control of plant diseases. These notices would cover basic research with bioagents, such as the selection of new antagonists, compatibility with other techniques, environmental impacts, microbial ecology, the development of biocontrol agent isolates to be efficient in different soil and climate conditions and with the capacity to control several phytopathogens, considering the double defense-development effect of plants.
It is also necessary to understand the mechanisms that promote the regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional level of beneficial responses for plants, development of agents that also collaborate with the efficient use of nitrogen, and with the management of fungal resistance to fungicides and integrated management of pests – MIP.

The difficulty in Brazil in obtaining support from public institutions is a consequence of the way researchers are evaluated and remunerated, since without technology products cannot be improved and potential products are confined to the shelves of universities and research institutions.

Even so, the development of a biological product is still cheaper than a chemical one, costing US$2 million to 10 million, while a pesticide can cost US$250 million. At the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, 118 biological products were registered until the beginning of the year, only 10 of which were for disease control.