The company "August" analyzed the most common stereotypes regarding biopesticides - plant protection products permitted for use in growing organic products and synthesized by living organisms.
The world market for biopesticides is considered to be fast growing: the share of biological products in the total volume of plant protection products is still only a few percent, but, according to experts, their sales are increasing by 15-20% per year - more than three times faster than the already established world market of CPPPs.
In Russia, the situation is different: the markets for biopesticides and CPPPs are growing at a comparable pace. Growth in biopesticides is generally approaching global levels, and sales of traditional pesticides have increased by about 10% per year over the past decade. From 2010 to 2019, expenditures on plant protection products in Russia per hectare of sown area quadrupled - from 550 to 2200 rubles. This happened both due to fluctuations in exchange rates, to which the cost of the main components of plant protection products is tied, and due to the fact that technologically justified needs for plant protection are still not fully covered by domestic farms. And the growth potential in the country is still great: in Russia, the cost per hectare in dollars is two times lower than in the USA, and 3,5 times lower than in Germany. And in Japan, the country with the largest proportion of centenarians among the population, they spend almost 15 times more per hectare of farmland than in Russia (but keep in mind that in Japan more than one crop is harvested per hectare per year and the prices of pesticides there are very high).
As for biopesticides, a significant part of them belongs to the group of insecticides designed to control insects and fungicides used to control fungal infections of plants. Also, biological products are widely positioned as growth stimulants and anti-stress components - unfortunately, not always with obvious and proven efficacy. Biopesticides hardly compete with the most demanded group of CPPPs - herbicides. Studies show that while the main incentives that can persuade a farmer to use biopesticides are the free provision of the drug and recommendations from colleagues, while the key motivating factor for using CPPD is confidence in the result, based on their own experience. In addition, the use of biopesticides often requires special conditions that are not always dependent on farmers.
Different countries think differently which drugs have the right to be called biopesticides. So, in Russia, the definition is given in GOST R 56694-2015: these are "biological plant protection products that are used to combat pests of cultivated plants, which are living objects or natural biologically highly active chemical compounds synthesized by living organisms." In the European Union, biopesticides are defined as "a form of pesticide based on microorganisms or natural products." The United States Environmental Protection Agency, in addition to microbiological preparations based on bacteria, fungi and viruses, also classifies genetically modified cultures in which microorganism genes have been added to biopesticides. For example, the endotoxin gene of bacteria of the species Bacillus thuringiensis, which itself is used as an insecticide. As a result, the plant itself produces toxins that destroy the harmful object. But in the USA, biochemical pesticides synthesized by living organisms include only those substances that control pests exclusively by non-toxic mechanisms (such as insect sex pheromones that prevent mating, aromatic extracts that attract insects into traps, oils that prevent respiration, etc.). etc.).
The company "August" states that the use of living objects of viral, bacterial or fungal nature as plant protection agents, in comparison with chemical products, is limited by three main factors. First, they require special storage conditions, as they often "deteriorate" at high or negative temperatures. Secondly, their shelf life is several times, and sometimes an order of magnitude, less than that of CPSP. Pheromones, for example, are stored in a freezer, and a trichoderma mushroom culture, which has a fungicidal effect, will even be transported by a competent farmer in the refrigerator. But the most important factor is the third: the effectiveness of "live" products is highly dependent on environmental conditions. If they are unfavorable, and the competition with the natural biota of the environment is great, “live” pesticides may be ineffective.
“Biopesticides as products of microbiological or plant synthesis are not much different from chemical plant protection products, except for the method of production of the active substance. Buyers of products sometimes do not even know that they are not of synthetic origin, - says Mikhail Danilov. - For example, the very effective insectoacaricide abamectin, which kills ticks and harmful insects, is a waste product of the fungi Streptomyces avermitilis. And although it seems that "bio" is safe, abamectin for mammals is only an order of magnitude less toxic than potassium cyanide. "
At the same time, the correct use of CPSP ensures that there is no harm to nature and humans. The drugs themselves are now undergoing multilevel safety testing. It takes more than one year from the moment the active ingredient is tested to the sale of a product based on it. In addition to biological tests directly related to checking the activity of a substance against a harmful object, a whole range of toxicological examinations is carried out. At the same time, obsolete drugs leave the market. First of all, these are substances with high persistence that are stored in environmental objects for a long time, as well as those that are prone to bioaccumulation - accumulation in the body in a concentration greater than they are present in the external environment. Secondly, these are substances whose toxicological characteristics are of concern.
“Dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethylmethane (DDT), relatively low-toxic, but banned today in all countries of the world, was used against mosquitoes and plant pests and proved to be very resistant to decomposition. In soil, its half-life can be more than 15 years. In addition, it had an extremely high bioaccumulation rate. In the food chain, silt - algae - crustaceans - fish - predatory fish, its concentration increased ten thousand times. At the same time, we must not forget that in three decades DDT has helped save up to half a billion people who did not die from malaria, ”Mikhail Danilov cites as an example.
Dangerous preparations of chemical plant protection become when used incorrectly - first of all, when the application regulations are violated. This also applies to the norms and terms of use of pesticides, and their use on crops for which they are not intended - for example, due to toxicological characteristics.
“When using organophosphate insecticides or benzimidazole fungicides on wheat, there will be no residues in the grain, but using them to protect lettuce from thrips and fusarium is practically a crime. Unfortunately, so far not all products in the Russian Federation are checked for compliance with the norms for the maximum permissible residues in it of both chemical pesticides and no less dangerous toxins of organic origin, ”sums up Mikhail Danilov.
Material provided by the press service of the company "August"