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In Brazil, a more effective and sustainable insecticide for HLB-spreading psyllids was developed by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company) in partnership with the Institute of Chemistry of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The work resulted in a controlled-release system of the insecticide thiamethoxam molecule.
Encapsulation was performed in polymeric nanoparticles, structures more than 80,000 times smaller than the thickness of a hair. Nanomaterials have unique physical, chemical and biological properties, different from the characteristics of the same materials at larger scales due to the increase in surface-volume ratio and quantum effects. Nanopesticides are formulations that use nanomaterials in their composition and have high application efficiency and fewer toxic effects to the environment compared to conventional formulations of the same active ingredient.
In the Brazilian work, the formulation method used was the nanoencapsulation of the active ingredient studied, resulting in a release sustained by nanoparticles, high stability and specificity.
“The results indicated that nanostructures were effective with a dose approximately twice lower compared to commercial formulations,” said Embrapa analyst Marcia Assalin, coordinator of the study supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation.
The efficiency of nanopesticide was evaluated by controlling the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) in the greenhouse. In addition to increasing efficiency, the new product can lead to a reduction in the number of applications and attenuation in the development of resistance of pests to the insecticide. It can also result in reduction of environmental impacts and associated costs.
According to Ljubica Tasic, a professor at Unicamp, the nanopesticide showed reduced toxicity to aquatic organisms used in ecotoxicity evaluation studies.
Formulations of nanoencapsulated pesticides allow controlled release of the asset, as well as protection against its premature degradation, allowing the use of conventional insecticide in a more efficient and sustainable way. Therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of encapsulated pesticide formulations is essential to enable their use in agriculture.
Source: Embrapa
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