Green Chemistry Challenge: 2024 Design of Safer and Degradable Chemicals

Pro Farm Group, a Subsidiary of Bioceres Crop Solutions

Bioceres is being recognized for the development of RinoTec^™, an enhanced microbial pesticide for crops including corn, cotton, soy, and wheat. RinoTec is based on a microbe with natural pesticidal effects. Bioceres has engineered the growth of this microbe to produce more of the natural pesticide compound which reduces the application rate for RinoTec. The microbe is grown in large vessels, then killed and incorporated into a seed treatment package that coats the seeds prior to planting. According to Pro Farm Group, RinoTec is “readily biodegradable” and can replace several commonly used synthetic pesticide products. 

Summary of Technology 

RinoTec is an improvement to their prior product called BIOst®. BIOst is a nematicide and insecticide based on the microbe Burkholeria rinojensis. Unlike BIOst which requires relatively high application rates, for RinoTec, Pro Farm Group engineered the fermentation to increase the production of the key pesticidal metabolite, allowing substantially reduced application rates, thereby reducing the amount of this product being released into the environment.  A life cycle assessment by Boundless Impact Research and Analytics scored the BIOst pesticide product a 9.9 out of 10, noting that the Pro Farm Group’s documentation also showed minimal soil, aquatic, and human toxicity as well as minimal ecosystem impacts and harmful materials. 

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