Brazil Launches EficazControl Biocontrol Agent Yields Up 3.71 Bags per Hectare Approved for Soybean Corn Disease Protection

Brazilian agri-tech firm Simbiose has unveiled EficazControl, the nation’s first biopesticide based on the Paenibacillus ottowii strain, at the ANDAV 2025 conference. The new product is designed to shield major crops—soybeans, corn, and cotton—from devastating soil-borne diseases, offering up to 80% protection against key root and stem rot pathogens.

EficazControl, jointly developed with Embrapa over nine years, also contains Bacillus velezensis and has gained full regulatory approval from Brazil’s agriculture, environment, and health authorities. Field results show it can control Fusarium, Colletotrichum, and Macrophomina, among others.

Significantly, Embrapa’s trials reveal that EficazControl outperforms chemical fungicides as a seed treatment, boosting yields by an extra 3.71 bags per hectare. Unlike chemical fungicides, which require separate registration for each crop, this biopesticide is authorized for all crops affected by the target diseases.

Marcelo de Godoy Oliveira, CEO of Cogny, highlighted the competitive edge EficazControl brings to Simbiose in the lucrative soybean market, where annual fungicide sales top 400 million reais. The product is set for commercial use in the 2025/26 planting season, signaling a new era for sustainable crop protection in Brazil.