TwoB Monthly The Global Biocontrol & Biostimulants Newsletter | Oct 22, 2018 | Article Link
As announced in our Breaking News Alert of Thursday 11th October, three products were finalists for the Bernard
Blum award for Novel Biocontrol Solutions: COS-OGA, a biofungicide for powdery and downy mildew control from
Fyto Fend; Burkholderia rinojensis strain A396, a new bacterial strain with uses as a bioinsecticide, bionematicide
and bioherbicide from Marrone Bio Innovations; and ECO-NOC, a microbial bioinsecticide effective against
lepidopteran species from Plant Health Products.
The award ceremony took place today in the presence of Willem Ravensberg, IBMA President, David Cary,
Executive Director of IBMA, Owen Jones, Chairman of the Award committee, and Francois Levesque, Managing
Director of New Ag International in the conference hall of the Basel (Switzerland) Congress Centre on the
occasion of ABIM 2018. The 2018 Bernard Blum award went to the Burkholderia rinojensis-based
product line from Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI). Burkholderia rinojensis strain A396, discovered by
Marrone Bio Innovations, produces several natural compounds (some known, but not as pesticides, and some
novel) with pesticidal activity that work together to control a broad range of pests and weeds. MBI has developed
a manufacturing process that minimizes the herbicidal compounds for Majestene and Venerate, while a different
manufacturing process maximizes the herbicidal compounds to create MBI-014 bioherbicide. The efficacy
spectrum is very broad on the pests, but it is non-toxic or low risk to non-target organisms. It is non-toxic to
honeybees and does not affect pollination. No other microorganism is known where multiple products have been
developed across such a broad range of targets – weeds, insect, mites and nematodes.
