New biological product combats whiteflies

Recently, Lallemand Plant Care Brasil and Embrapa Arroz e Feijão launched a new technology that makes it possible to combat whiteflies by reducing the use of chemicals. The official launch took place during the Brazilian Entomology Congress.

Embrapa Rice and Beans researcher, Eliane Quintela, highlighted the importance of the partnership with the Canadian multinational. “Seven years ago we started the partnership with Lallemand and developed the fungus cordyceps javanica for whitefly control. In all these crops, in drier times, the population can increase greatly, causing great damage to these crops. The partnership with Lallemand is very important for Embrapa, because our research results are transformed into a product that reaches the farmer”.

According to Lallemand's agronomic manager, Cleiton Oliveira, the great advantage of the product, Lalguard Java, is the greater tolerance to heat and low humidity. “We had several field projects in different regions, where we were able to develop positioning recommendations so that we could have the best product effectiveness. It was possible to notice that Lalguard Java has a greater tolerance to high temperatures. And we also found that it has a demand for slightly lower relative humidity conditions, and this brings a very positive result in the safety of the application, especially in these adverse conditions.”

For Lallemand's product development manager, Kelly Pazolini, the partnership with Embrapa was vital for the good results. “The development was carried out in partnership with the group of researcher Eliane Quintela, from Embrapa Arroz e Feijão. Over the course of these seven years, many people participated and are today involved in this. [The product] really stands out, starting with its high efficiency in managing all stages from nymphs to adults of the whitefly.”

The registration of Lalguard Java was made official by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) on August 2. It is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2023.