Marrone Bio Innovations' Grandevo® Bioinsecticide Receives California State Registration

DAVIS, Calif., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., a leading global provider of natural pest management products for crop protection, announced today that its Grandevo^® bioinsecticide has received California state registration. Grandevo is now approved for use on a variety of crops including lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, citrus, strawberries, grapes and almonds and can be used in field and greenhouse applications. The first new broad-spectrum microbial insecticide to enter the market in nearly 50 years, Grandevo raises the bar for modern insecticides by improving resistance management, providing long-lasting control of a broad range of insects and mites, and featuring a flexible application window.

"Grandevo is truly breaking new ground, offering today's growers the ability to employ microbial biopesticides in ways never before thought possible," said Maris Klavins, product manager for MBI. "With Grandevo, California growers now have a reliable, high-performing bioinsecticide they can use right up to the day of harvest. We look forward to expanding use of this novel product into the important California market."

Grandevo is an advanced broad-spectrum bioinsecticide that offers protection against chewing and sucking insects and mites including Asian citrus psyllid, armyworms and other pest caterpillars, whiteflies, leaf miners, pepper weevil, peach twig borer, thrips, mites, Lygus bug, mealybugs, and white grubs. The product's complex modes of action control pests through unique combinations of repellency, oral toxicity, reduced egg hatch, and a reduction in the ability of pests to reproduce—making it ideal for inclusion in insect resistance management (IRM) programs. In addition, Grandevo is not limited by pre-defined spray windows, timing or mode-of-action conflicts, which provides flexibility to incorporate it into an integrated pest management (IPM) program, or to use it as the foundation product.

Grandevo is tolerance exempt on food crops, a key benefit for exported crops that are subject to maximum residue levels. Other advantages include a minimum four-hour re-entry interval (REI) and zero-day pre-harvest interval (PHI), which provide growers with additional operational flexibility because they can resume field operations quickly and continue to protect crops right up to the day of harvest. In addition, Grandevo is compliant with the National Organic Program (NOP) and listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).

"In trials and commercial applications, Grandevo has delivered efficacy levels that are equivalent or better than synthetic pesticides and surpasses other bioinsectides. That evidence, along with its application flexibility, positions Grandevo as an excellent choice for California growers," said MBI Director of Global Product Development and entomologist Tim Johnson, PhD. "And specifically for the citrus market, Grandevo is a much-needed addition to the toolbox to control Asian citrus psyllid. Proven in the highly infested Florida market, Grandevo is now available for California citrus growers who have just begun to fight the battle against this vector of citrus greening."

In 2011 Grandevo's unique profile was recognized by AgProfessional as "one of the most innovative products of the year." More recently, Grandevo was named a finalist in two separate categories of the 2012 Agrow Awards—"Best New Crop Protection Product Or Trait" and "Best New Biopesticide."

MBI will be featuring Grandevo in booth #413 at CAPCA's 38th Annual Conference & Agri-Expo, taking place in Anaheim, CA, October 21-23, 2012.

About Marrone Bio Innovations

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. is a leading global provider of natural pest management products (biopesticides) for the agricultural and water treatment markets. Its effective and environmentally friendly natural agricultural products provide higher yields and quality while managing pest resistance and residues. Through its proprietary discovery and development platform and strategically in-licensed technologies, MBI has developed a pipeline of advanced and early-stage products for the significant agricultural and water treatment markets, including several nematicide, fungicide, algaecide and plant health product candidates. MBI's award-winning products for the agricultural market include the biofungicide Regalia^®, and Grandevo^®, a broad-spectrum bioinsecticide for controlling insects and mites. The company recently received EPA approval of a novel bioherbicide, and has submitted another broad-spectrum insecticide to the EPA. MBI is launching into the water treatment market with Zequanox^®, the industry's first natural product to selectively control invasive zebra and quagga mussels. MBI currently has more than three dozen patents pending in the U.S. and globally.

SOURCE Marrone Bio Innovations