International Congress BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS - Gruppo di ...

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BIOASSAYS FOR SCREENINGS AND QUALITY CONTROL OF PRODUCTS WITH
INSECTICIDAL, FUNGICIDAL AND NEMATOCIDAL ACTIVITY, BASED ON PLANT EXTRACTS,
MICROORGANISMS AND CHEMICAL MOLECULES
M. Ricci, G. Flek, M. Colli, R. Barcarotti, L. Quattrocchi, S. Coranelli, L. Concezzi, A.P. Fifi, R. De Nicola, M.
Scribano, M. De Berardinis, F. Citarrei and A. Ragni
Introduction
BioTecnologie BT srl Pantalla di Todi 06050 Perugia Italy
Tel: ++39 – 075 - 895091 Fax: ++39 – 075 – 888 776 E-mail: mricci.bt@parco3a.org
A bioassay is an experiment where a living organism (insect, plant, phytopathogenic nematode and others) is
used as test (Robertson J.L. & Preisler H.K.). It is a fundamental tool in the R & D of agricultural products.
Bioassays are used to discover new molecules and/or toxins, to compare different pesticides, to evaluate the
feasibility of excipients for formulations, attractants and/or repellents, and for the quality control of products
ready for the market. Does not exist a universal bioassay: for each purposes a specific bioassy should be used or,
if not available, should be developed (Ricci et al., 1996). A good bioassay should be cheap, fast, should allow the
repeatability of the results in different dates and different sites, should discriminate two products with little
differences, and should predict, as far as possible, the further performance of the product in field conditions.
Here, are presented a series of bioassays that are used, adapted and developed by the company BioTecnologie
B.T. S.r.l., for its R&D programs or for services for third parties.
Bioassays
Commercial companies that produce and sell bio-products for agricultural use, based on Entomopathogenic
Nematodes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses, have to set up a bioassay unit in order to perform screening programs
and to carry out quality control of the production and quality control of final products.
The bioassay should be a compromise between the need to assure scientific results and the need to save time and
money.
To support a rational bioassay unit, other sections are needed: Insectary, Plant Pathogen Maintenance and
Greenhouses.
Screenings
Screenings are performed in order to discover new active ingredients or to support the development of products.
According to the different needs, different bioassays are designed.
At BioTecnologie B.T., since 1992, several procedures for bioassays have been developed.
Toxicity bioassays and feeding behavior tests are performed daily for inside and outside (external service)
research purposes.
Quality Control of Bio-products for agricultural pest control
The first duty of the quality control system is to assess what is declared on the label of the product in terms of
product weight and titer of active ingredient.
Even if bio-products are based on non-pathogenic (to human beings) microorganisms, the producer has to assure
that his product is free of pathogenic contaminants (Ricci and Fridlender, 1998).
Stability is an important parameter in terms of maintenance of the product characteristics during storage and
transportation.
The activity is the parameter that shows the ability of the product to control the target insects in real conditions.
This is the harder parameter to assess because a simple, cheap, fast and reliable laboratory bioassay has to be
found in order to predict the activity of the product under field conditions
Insectary
A multiple-species insect rearing facility for research support on bio-insecticide development is operating at
BioTecnologie B.T. S.r.l., in Umbria – Italy, since 1992.
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