DAVIS, Calif., Feb. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ:MBII) (MBI), a leading developer of biological crop protection and plant health solutions, today announced that Venerate® CG has been approved for use in California. The Venerate CG label has also successfully completed review by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) enforcement office to ensure the product’s use on cannabis is consistent with California Food and Agriculture Code 12973.
Venerate CG’s active ingredient is a new species of bacterium, Burkholderia rinojensis strain A396, discovered in MBI’s microbial discovery screen. It has both insecticidal and miticidal properties, and is listed by the Organic Materials Research Institute (OMRI) and the National Organic Program (NOP) for use in organic gardening and farming. Venerate CG is also designated as “exempt from the requirement of food tolerances” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a safety assessment that confirms that the active ingredient in Venerate CG poses no pesticide residue concerns for consumers and is also a designation necessary to meet an important DPR minimal requirement for use on cannabis.
Venerate CG can improve cannabis crop yields by reducing plant damage from pests by up to 80 percent. Recent trials from Farm Forest Research in Ontario, Canada reported a 10:1 return on investment in cannabis when Venerate CG was incorporated into integrated pest management (IPM) programs. This liquid formula is highly effective on aphids and mites. Cannabis growers are happy with minimal (four-hour) re-entry intervals and zero-day pre-harvest intervals, allowing workers and home gardeners to quickly get back into their crops after applying the product, and to safely apply it to their plants right up to the day of harvest.
Upon contact with plant-eating insects and mites, Venerate CG stops these pests from feeding, and arrests insect and mite development, affecting their ability to molt into the next stage. Cannabis growers are readily adopting Venerate CG to control bud mites and aphids, while home gardeners and small farmers use Venerate CG for control of insects and mites, such as plant-eating aphids, mites, whiteflies, plant hoppers, beetles and caterpillars. Venerate CG is often used in rotation with other pest management products such as MBI’s own Grandevo® CG bioinsecticide, which repels pests, and stops their feeding and reproduction. Both products feature multiple modes of action that are complementary to one another.
“We are pleased to report that Venerate CG meets the state’s criteria for use on cannabis, as established by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation,” said Lisa Malabad, MBI’s cannabis segment lead. “Growers and gardeners now have an additional effective and environmentally responsible tool to use to manage destructive sucking and chewing pests.”
More information on Venerate CG is available online at marronebioinnovations.com/cg-products/ or by calling 877-664-4476.
About Marrone Bio Innovations
Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: MBII) strives to lead the movement to more a sustainable world through the discovery, development and sale of innovative biological products for crop protection, plant health and waterway systems treatment that support a better tomorrow for farmers, turf managers and consumers around the globe. MBI has screened over 18,000 microorganisms and 350 plant extracts, leveraging its in-depth knowledge of plant and soil microbiomes enhanced by advanced molecular technologies to rapidly develop seven effective and environmentally responsible pest management products to help customers operate more sustainably while uniquely improving plant health and increasing crop yields. Supported by a robust portfolio of over 400 issued and pending patents around its superior natural product chemistry, MBI’s currently available commercial products are Regalia®, Stargus®, Grandevo® WDG, Grandevo® CG, Venerate® XC, Venerate® CG, Majestene®, Haven® and Amplitude®, Zelto® and Zequanox®.
Learn more about Marrone Bio Innovations at www.marronebio.com. Follow us on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Marrone Bio Innovations Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding strategy, future operations and plans, including assumptions underlying such statements, are forward-looking statements, and should not be relied upon as representing MBI’s views as of any subsequent date. Examples of such statements include the potential of Venerate CG for cannabis growers, home gardeners and farmers. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some beyond the Company’s control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including weather, regulatory and other factors affecting demand for the MBI’s products, any difficulty in marketing MBI’s products in its target markets, competition in the market for pest management products, lack of understanding of bio-based pest management products by customers and growers. Additional information that could lead to material changes in MBI’s performance is contained in its filings with the SEC. MBI is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any responsibility to, update or alter forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of current information, future events or otherwise.
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