BioSafe BioCeres WP - 1 lb - Bio-Insecticide

How BioCeres WP Kills, and Why It Takes a Week

This is a living fungus in a wettable powder, not a chemical, and it behaves accordingly. The active is Beauveria bassiana strain ANT-03 at 20.0 percent, guaranteed at a minimum of ten billion viable conidia per gram. EPA registration is 89600-2 and the signal word is CAUTION. Spores land on the cuticle of a soft bodied insect and germinate there. Infected insects take on a whitish cast before they stop feeding. The fungus then breaches the cuticle, multiplies, and feeds on the haemolymph. Death follows seven to fourteen days after infection, which is the honest timeline. Anyone expecting a same day knockdown has the wrong product in their hand. It also works on insects in diapause, which most contact sprays do not. Rate is one to three pounds per acre, or one and a half to three pounds per 100 gallons under glass. Restricted entry is four hours and the pre-harvest interval is zero days.

Storing Beauveria bassiana, and Why the Fridge Decides It

Beauveria bassiana is alive, so the label puts it in the fridge. Storage is at refrigerator temperature, thirty nine degrees Fahrenheit plus or minus two. Shelf life runs up to eighteen months held that way. A pouch left in a hot shed is a pouch of dead spores, and nothing on the plant will tell you why the spray failed. That one line decides whether a pouch works at all. Coverage is the other half of it, because this is a contact product with no systemic movement. Spray to cover undersides and stem junctions, not just the tops of leaves. Apply before a population gets away, and repeat rather than expecting one pass to finish it. Protective equipment includes waterproof gloves, eye protection and a particulate respirator for mixing the dust. It is labelled for edibles and ornamentals, tank mixes with other pesticides, and the label notes minimal impact on honey bees.

Key Features

• Active: Beauveria bassiana strain ANT-03 at 20.0 percent
• Spore load: A minimum of ten billion viable conidia per gram
• EPA registration: 89600-2, with the signal word CAUTION
• How it works: Spores breach the cuticle and feed on the insect inside
• Timeline: Death follows seven to fourteen days after infection
• Diapause: It also infects insects that are overwintering
• Rate: One to three pounds per acre, or 1.5 to 3 lb per 100 gal inside
• Intervals: A four hour REI and a zero day pre-harvest interval
• Storage: Refrigerated, at thirty nine degrees Fahrenheit
• Shelf life: Up to eighteen months when it is kept cold

Technical Specifications