California DPR Approves Marrone Bio Innovation's Regalia® Biofungicide for Soil Applications

DAVIS, Calif., Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI), a leading global provider of natural pest management products for the agricultural and water treatment markets, announced today the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) has approved a significant label expansion for Regalia^®, the company's biofungicide that triggers a plant's natural defenses to fight fungal and bacterial diseases.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120816/SF58398LOGO)

Regalia's new California label includes approval of expanded soil applications—including in-furrow sprays, pre-plant dips, shanked-in applications and soil drenches.  The chemigation section was also expanded to include drip irrigation instructions for controlling soilborne pathogens and improving overall plant health, growth, and yield.

"With this label expansion, Regalia now offers California growers the widest range of application flexibility for disease control available on the market," said Russell Blair,  Regalia product manager. "Regalia users have long benefited from foliar applications, and now with the addition of soil uses, growers can add an extra measure of defense against yield-robbing pathogens."

Regalia's activity against economically damaging soilborne pathogens such as Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora has been well documented by MBI as well as through independent third party research.

"Regalia's performance and application flexibility set it apart from other fungicides," says Tim Johnson, Ph.D., MBI's global director of product development. "Regalia has consistently shown improved root development and plant growth response on crops such as tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, strawberries and many others. With the expanded label, growers can now employ disease management from planting to harvest and reap the benefits of improved survivability, enhanced plant vigor, and increased marketable yield."

Regalia's unique active ingredient switches on a plant's natural defense mechanisms, causing it to produce and accumulate higher levels of natural proteins and other compounds that inhibit disease development.

Regalia can be used in tank mixes, in program rotations or as a stand-alone product. It can be applied at any time by air, ground, or chemigation and is rain fast in one hour. Regalia features a 4-hour re-entry interval (REI) and a zero day pre-harvest interval (PHI), allowing greater operational flexibility and no residue issues at harvest. In addition, it is compliant with the National Organic Program (NOP), is listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) and is exempt from maximum residue levels (MRL) on exported food crops.

"California growers have already embraced this technology before the expanded label because it provides effective control of potentially devastating diseases without the cumbersome restrictions and resistance issues that other registered products incur.  Now with CDPR's approval for soil applications, growers will have even more options to improve their disease control programs," Blair concludes.

For more details on these newly labeled applications, crops, and pathogens controlled by Regalia, go to www.marronebioinnovations.com/regalia. 

About Marrone Bio Innovations
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. is a leading global provider of natural pest management products (biopesticides) for the agricultural and water treatment markets. Its effective and environmentally friendly natural agricultural products provide higher yields and quality while managing pest resistance and residues. Through its proprietary discovery and development platform and strategically in-licensed technologies, MBI has developed a pipeline of advanced and early-stage products for the significant agricultural and water treatment markets, including several nematicide, fungicide, algaecide and plant health product candidates. MBI's award-winning products for the agricultural market include the biofungicide Regalia^®, and Grandevo^®, a broad-spectrum bioinsecticide for controlling insects and mites. The company recently received EPA approval of a novel bioherbicide, and has submitted another broad-spectrum insecticide to the EPA. MBI is launching into the water treatment market with Zequanox^®, the industry's first natural product to selectively control invasive zebra and quagga mussels. MBI currently has more than three dozen patents pending in the U.S. and globally.

SOURCE Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.