S. Kiewnick

Practicalities of developing and registering microbial biological control agents.

Abstract:

There is considerable interest in the exploitation of microbial biological control agents (MBCAs) for the control of crop pests, weeds and diseases. MBCAs can be used where chemical pesticides are banned or being phased out or where pests have developed resistance to standard chemicals. The use of MBCAs can play an important role in crop protection, as a key element in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. However, despite considerable research efforts on the development of new biological control agents the number of such products on the market in the European Union (EU) is still extremely low compared with the United States or Canada. In areas that previously constrained the commercialization of MBCAs, discovery, fermentation, formulation and application, significant progress has been made. The low number of products is mainly due to the slow registration process. In the EU, MBCAs are regulated by and follow Directive91/414/EEC for placing plant protection products in the market. Once an active ingredient is listed in Annex I, national registrations for the formulated product have to follow. This time consuming and expensive process has forced most companies to suspend their efforts in research and development. Initiatives by stakeholders from industry, science, regulatory authorities, policy and environment are underway to accelerate market introduction of MBCAs.