Citrus Greening
EPA registers biopesticide from University of Florida
The Environmental Protection Agency has registered PFR-97 for use on a wide variety of vegetables and fruits to combat thrips, psyllids, whiteflies, mealybugs and spider mites.
The insecticide contains the active ingredient Isaria fumosorosea, which was discovered by University of Florida researcher Lance Osborne, who's based in Apopka, according to a news release.
The Apopka 97 strain of the naturally occurring fungus was licensed to WR Grace Biopesticides, a predecessor of Columbia, Md.-based Certis USA.
The insecticide also controls chilli thrips, a pest of vegetables, fruits and ornamentals.
The fungi infects and kills all stages of the insect pest—eggs, nymphs or immatures an adults.
This sounds like very good news. Hopefully this fungus will not also destroy all stages of very usefull predator insects and arachnids. It would probably be best to only allow use on greenhouse crops until there is certain that useful creatures are not harmed as well.
This sounds like very good news. Hopefully this fungus will not also destroy all stages of very usefull predator insects and arachnids. It would probably be best to only allow use on greenhouse crops until there is certain that useful creatures are not harmed as well.
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