Biologicals Help Meet Demand for Alternative Solutions as MRLS Tighten Worldwide

Abstract

Biocontrol is a smaller segment of crop protection – but one with plenty of opportunity for growth. Meister Media Worldwide's latest Global Insight Series Report examines attitudes towards and adoption of biocontrol at the farm level, how biologicals fit with the latest developments in ag technology, and some developments that are making these tools more attractive to growers, agriculture, and the entire food chain for 2022 and beyond. The biggest opportunity for biologicals has been the management of chemical residues meeting consumer demands. De facto mandates driven by grocery store and food buyers can be even more restrictive – particularly at European chains and US operators like Whole Foods and even Wal-Mart – than residue tolerances set by the federal government. In the UK, a grocery store had an advertisement in the produce section boasting that it had banned over 60 pesticides! Many growers are currently dealing with finding alternative products related to the European Commission's 2021 decision to withdraw approval of the fungicide mancozeb as an active substance at the EU level. The grace period for EU farmers to use up stocks of products with mancozeb ended January 4, 2022. Biologicals, the vast majority of which are exempt from MRL evaluations, have the clear advantage in an environment of tightening regulatory controls and strong consumer demand for fewer pesticides. They fit very well, especially for late-season applications, and for those crops where you have multiple harvests like berry crops, where there is a very short re-entry period and no restriction on harvesting. Especially for fruit and vegetable crops, [these regulations] have helped them to be a strong driver for the growth of the biocontrols market. (For more information: Read the full article in the "Global Insight Series 2022: Biological Crop Protection")