Nov 9, 2015

Helicovex granted U.S. registration

Andermatt Biocontrol AG has received U.S registration of its biopesticide Helicovex, a Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted registration of Helicovex to control Helicoverpa ssp., which includes: Corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), Tobacco budworm (Helicoverpa punctigera) and African cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera). The EPA  granted applications of Helicovex on a broad range of different crops, including sweet corn, soybeans, cotton, different kinds of berries and vegetables and ornamentals. The approval includes agricultural use (greenhouse and open field) as well as residential use.

“Helicovex provides excellent control of Helicoverpa ssp., leaves zero residues and is absolutely harmless to non-target organisms,” said Alex Meier, head of marketing International Business at Andermatt Biocontrol. “Helicovex has already obtained approval in Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia and Ukraine. There are additional applications pending approval globally,” said Meier.

Demonstration trial cooperators sought

Biocontrol methods and biological pesticides are becoming very popular with US growers and provide benefits up and down the food value chain. “Helicovex will provide growers with a completely residue free method to control economically important lepidopteron pests in the United States” said Bill Stoneman, Andermatt’s U.S. marketing consultant. “We are excited to reach out to partners in key markets to begin broader scale demonstration trials and distribution partnerships in the United States.”