Best Agrolife’s insecticidal combination gets patent from African Intellectual Property Organization

Best Agrolife, an agrochemical manufacturer, has been granted an international patent for its novel ternary insecticidal combination that controls the entire sucking pest complex, including whitefly, jassids, aphids, and thrips with a single application. The granted patent covers the composition of ‘Pyriproxyfen’, ‘Diafenthiuron’, and ‘Dinotefuran’ in a suspension concentrate formulation.

A media statement said the patent has been granted by the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) covering Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Centrafrique, Comores, Congo, Côte d’lvoire, Gabon, Guinée, Guinée Bissau, Guinée Equatoriale, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Sénégal, Tchad, Togo.

Sucking pests’ impact

Losses due to sucking pests are estimated to harm 18-20 per cent of annual crop productivity. As much of these losses happens in the fields just before harvest, the impact can be devastating in developing countries such as the nations in the African continent.

It said that ‘Pyriproxyfen’ disrupts insect growth and reproduction, ‘Diafenthiuron’ targets the nervous system of pests, and ‘Dinotefuran’ acts systemically to penetrate the plant and control pests internally. This diverse action stalls development of resistance.

This novel formulation is being sold in India under the brand name ‘Ronfen’. The combined sale of ‘Ronfen’ since introduction has exceeded ₹400 crore with farmers using it to treat more than 2.4 million acres, the statement added.