Vittia Group receives the country's first registration of a macrobiological product that combats seven field pests

Aphids are common pests in crops. These insects feed on plant sap, injecting toxins, which harm their growth and cause, for example, yellowing and crinkling of the leaves. Aphids live in colonies, can reach several crops with the help of the wind and, without some type of control, their population can increase up to 10 times every week and cause 20 to 30% losses for farmers. The whitefly also sucks the sap from plants, causing changes in their vegetative and reproductive development, weakening them and reducing the productivity and quality of the fruits. According to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), in cases of high population densities, losses of up to 50% of production may occur.

The action of natural enemies is one of the methods of combating the problem and the Vittia Group has just received the registration certificate for Criso-Vit, a macrobiological predator, composed of the larvae of the Chrysopid (Chrysoperla externa), an insect considered an important natural predator in many agricultural and horticultural cultivation systems, and which has been the subject of research at different universities for several years.

Criso-Vit is the first predator to be registered in Brazil for the control of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci biotype B), green aphid (Myzus persicae), green cereal aphid (Schizaphis graminum), Solanaceae (Macrosiphum euphorbiaceae), Rosehip aphid (Macrosiphum rosae); Rose aphid (Rhodobium porosum) and Cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii).

"The larvae feed on the eggs and nymphs of the pests and thus gain strength to continue their reproduction in the field. This is the main advantage of macrobiological predators or parasitoids: after the insects are released into the area, they continue to multiply naturally" , explains the Director of JB Biotechnology, Bianca Vique Narde.

Available to the producer in protected sheets, Criso-Vit must be applied to the plantation respecting a distance of 20 m; or it can be introduced into the crop using a drone, which guarantees a higher yield application across the entire area. Tolerant to different climatic conditions, it is resistant to some insecticides and can be used with other forms of management - be it a chemical or biological product. The application can be made for curative control, when there is already a pest infestation, or conservative, to prevent pests from entering the crop.

"The use of biological techniques is a global trend and the Vittia Group, which has as one of its values ​​the commitment to sustainability, invests millions in research and development to bring more and more innovations to rural producers, with more productivity and profitability in your business, concludes Bianca.