EPA approves biocontrol that targets Colorado potato beetle
GreenLight Biosciences says that the EPA has granted registration of Calantha, a biocontrol designed to target and control the highly destructive Colorado potato beetle.
This biocontrol is the first registration of a foliar-applied product with an RNA ingredient under Section 3 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, according to a news release. GreenLight Bio said the novel RNA-based approach enables Calantha to target the Colorado potato beetle.
"This is a new day for farmers seeking to balance pest management with biodiversity protection and environmental health,” GreenLight Bio CEO Andrey Zarur said in the release. “Calantha embodies the promise of such a future, along with the dozens of other innovations in our product pipeline. We are thrilled to witness the impending impact of this commercial chapter of our company in creating a more sustainable future."
GreenLight Bio says the Colorado potato beetle feeds on plants in the nightshade family and can develop resistance to traditional pesticides used to combat the pest. The insect accounts for more than half a billion dollars in crop loss worldwide each year, according to the company.
"Potato growers have expressed their struggle in managing the Colorado potato beetle due to increasing resistance to currently available chemical products. They want effective products that align with their sustainability targets. Calantha is the perfect fit," Mark Singleton, chief commercial officer and general manager of plant health for GreenLight Bio, said in the release.
Calantha breaks down quickly, degrading within three days and leaving no harmful residue, according to the release. The company said as the Colorado potato beetle consumes plants treated with the dsRNA (double-stranded ribonucleic acid) biopesticide, the treated plants will cause it to stop eating and die from its own toxins.
After testing Calantha at 100 times its application rate, it showed no effect on tested species other than the Colorado potato beetle, GreenLight Bio said. Growers apply Calantha by mixing it with water and using existing standard agricultural equipment and practices.
GreenLight Bio said Calantha underwent a more-than-four-year review for safety and efficacy by the EPA. In 2023 the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee, a global public-private technical advisory group focused on resistance management, created a new category, Group 35, for ledprona, the active ingredient in Calantha, in its mode of action classification, the company said.
