Conference Day One 28th JulyTuesday, 28 July 2026 - BRT (Brasilia Time, GMT-03:00)

• International market insight
• LATAM – deep dive into LATAM markets (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Peru and Central America )
• Market size and growth

Many lepidopteran pests such as Spodoptera, Tuta or Plutella pose an increasing threat to crops in the LATAM region. In recent years these pests have become more challenging to combat due to evolving insecticide resistances, more extreme field conditions and stricter market access requirements. Since 1988 Andermatt has specialised in producing high-quality baculovirus products that target a wide range of key lepidopteran pests in the fruit & vegetable industry. This technology has been introduced in the LATAM market to provide farmers solutions to above mentioned challenges. Microbial insecticides based on baculoviruses offer a target species-specific option that can be readily integrated into integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. As members of IRAC mode of action group 31 baculoviruses, they are well suited for resistance management strategies. Baculovirus products offer growers a tool to meet market requirements for residue-sensitive produce, as they have no maximum residue limits. The potential of baculoviruses in terms of impact on pest population and optimised application practices is still not fully understood. New findings from laboratory and field trials will be presented, focusing on how baculovirus application timing influences efficacy, their effect on pest populations over time, and their contribution to insecticide resistance management.

Microbe-based biological formulations are increasingly adopted as a sustainable tool in agriculture for biocontrol and plant health applications. However, their efficacy is often limited by factors such as reduced microbial viability during storage, insufficient formulation stability, and suboptimal application performance. While a broad range of co-formulants and adjuvants is available to optimize the efficacy, stability, and application properties of conventional chemical crop protection products, comparable formulation solutions for biologicals are still less established. This gap offers significant opportunities to enhance the performance of biological formulations through tailored formulation strategies and innovative adjuvant technologies.

Clariant has developed a dedicated formulator toolbox to address these challenges and improve the performance of biological formulations. The toolbox comprises a carefully selected portfolio of biocompatible dispersants, emulsifiers, and wetting agents designed to improve stability and application properties of solid, aqueous, and oil-based formulations, as well as in-can and tank-mix adjuvants to enhance biological efficacy. The biocompatibility with a broad range of microorganisms, including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi, has been verified using a fully automated high-throughput viability assay.

For solid WP and WG formulations, which remain the dominant formulation types for microbial products, the wetting and dispersing agents Hostapon TPHC and Dispersogen SI significantly improve wettability and suspensibility. In aqueous bacterial SC formulations, polymeric dispersants such as Dispersogen PSL 100 and Dispersogen PL 40 are valuable options to prevent phase separation during storage and reduce cell agglomeration in the final spray mixture. Emulsogen ELO 200 enables excellent emulsification of vegetable oils, opening new possibilities for oil-based OD biological formulations with improved emulsion stability and blooming behavior. The Synergen Guard product range – innovative nanoemulsions containing natural waxes – can be used both as built-in or tank-mix adjuvants, which boost the performance of foliar-applied biologicals by improving leaf coverage, rainfastness and efficacy. In addition, Synergen Soil represents a novel tool for soil-applied biologicals, that improves moisture distribution in the soil and enhances efficacy.

Clariant’s comprehensive formulator toolbox demonstrates how tailored formulation and adjuvant technologies can overcome key limitations of microbial biologicals and contribute to more reliable and effective biological crop protection solutions.