Bee Vectoring Technologies submits first biopesticide to EPA

Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) has submitted its biopesticide BVT-CR7 for registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In order to comply with submission requirements, BVT-CR7 underwent eight months of toxicology tests by certified laboratories in order to demonstrate its safety for humans, bees and the environment. BVT-CR7 passed all required tests, the company said in a news release.

CR7, BVT’s first bio-pesticide product, is an organic strain of a naturally occurring, ubiquitous beneficial fungus, according to BVT. It is targeted at preventing and controlling significant food crop-destroying diseases such as sclerotinia, botrytis, monilinia, anthracnose and alternaria. Beyond disease
control, verified results from commercial trials have shown significant additional benefits including crop yield increases as high as 30 percent or more and longer shelf life of produce, the company said.

BVT-CR7 controls diseases at least as effectively as commercial fungicides on a preventative basis, according to BVT. The EPA submission for BVT-CR7 includes use on vegetables as well as high value crops such as almonds, strawberries, blueberries, tree fruits and nuts. It has also been proven to provide highly-effective disease control on major crops such as strawberries, blueberries and
sunflowers, and is being evaluated for seed treatment use on major broad acre crops.

This submission starts the clock for the legislatively mandated 18-month EPA review. This application will now be submitted into the PMRA in Canada with efficacy data on key crops in the coming months. During the EPA review time BVT will be in a position to do demo trials to get customers familiar with products as well as pursuing revenue through other products avenues, according to the company.