Jan 15, 2020

Stargus biofungicide approved for California use

Marrone Bio Innovations said Jan. 14 that its patented Bacillus biofungicide, Stargus, has been fully reviewed by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) and approved for immediate use by growers in California on several crops, including grapes, leafy greens, brassicas, strawberries, cucurbits and fruiting vegetables.

Stargus has already been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is registered for use in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada, according to a release from the company. Marrone Bio is currently in the process of registering the product in several other countries internationally as well. Stargus is currently being sold by MBI’s channel distributors in the United States.

The active ingredient in Stargus has multiple modes of action including boosting the innate ability of the plant to defend itself and the direct anti-fungal and anti-bacterial effects of the natural compounds produced in fermentation by the bacteria, according to Marrone’s release. Additionally, Stargus is exempt from maximum residue limits (MRLs) and has a zero-day pre-harvest interval – giving growers flexibility into how they schedule labor and applications, while providing protection to crops right up to the day of harvest.

“Trials conducted in the U.S., and specifically in California, have proven Stargus increases crop yields and quality by controlling a variety of plant diseases, including downy mildew, white molds, and Botrytis gray mold,’’ said Kevin Hammill, Chief Commercial Officer of Marrone Bio Innovations.

‘‘Stargus used alone outperformed the biological standards and is competitive with the current growers’ crop protection chemical standards. In a BioUnite program, Stargus is consistently a top performer when incorporated into program with the current chemical standards.’’

‘‘Stargus is another example of how we leverage our existing library of 18,000-plus micro-organisms and 350 plant extracts, addressing the $16.3 billion global fungicide market1,’’ said Pam Marrone, founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations. ‘‘Our teams specifically screened for a product that would bring new modes of action to the Bacillus product market and be highly effective on an array of diseases such as downy mildew and white mold.’’