New Biopesticide Helicovex Receives U.S. Registration

Posted by Rosemary Gordon|November 16, 2015

Andermatt Biocontrol Ag announced the U.S registration of its biopesticide Helicovex, a Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV). 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).

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 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.

“Helicovex will provide growers with a completely residue-free method to control economically important lepidopteron pests in the United States,” according to 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.”