(Also known as: Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum)
Hazard alerts
The following Pesticide Hazard Tricolour (PHT) alerts are based on the data in the tables below. An absence of an alert does not imply the substance has no implications for human health, biodiversity or the environment but just that we do not have the data to form a judgement. The alerts for Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) are based on applying the FAO/WHO (Type 1) and the PAN (Type II) criteria to PPDB data. Further details on the HHP indicators are given in the tables below. Neither the PHT nor the HHP hazard alerts take account of usage patterns or exposure, thus they do not represent risk.
PHT: Environmental fate
PHT: Ecotoxicity
PHT: Human health
Highly Hazardous Pesticide
GENERAL INFORMATION
Description
A micro-organism used mainly to control locusts and grasshoppers and is active on adults, larvae and eggs
Example pests/issues controlled
Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus); Asian migratory locust (Locusta migratoria); Moroccan locust (Docio-staurus maroccanus); Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria); Red locust (Nomadacris septemfasciata); Brown locusts (Locustana pardalina); Variegated grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus); African rice grasshoppers (Hieroglyphus daganensis)
Example applications
All food and ornamental crops
Efficacy & activity
Experimental data shows a mortality rate of around 90%
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 in the following EU Member States
ATAustria
BEBelgium
BGBulgaria
CYCyprus
CZCzech Republic
DEGermany
DKDenmark
EEEstonia
ELGreece
ESSpain
FIFinland
FRFrance
HRCroatia
HUHungary
IEIreland
ITItaly
LTLithuania
LULuxembourg
LVLatvia
MTMalta
NLNetherlands
PLPoland
PTPortugal
RORomania
SESweden
SISlovenia
SKSlovakia
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 by Mutual Recognition of Authorisation and/or national regulations in the following EEA countries
ISIceland
NONorway
Additional information
Also used in
Morocco
Chemical structure
Isomerism
Not applicable
Chemical formula
-
Canonical SMILES
-
Isomeric SMILES
-
International Chemical Identifier key (InChIKey)
-
International Chemical Identifier (InChI)
-
2D structure diagram/image available?
No
General status
Biopesticide type
Insecticide
Substance groups
Micro-organism
Minimum active substance purity
-
Known relevant impurities
-
Substance origin
Natural
Mode of action
Essentially, the fungus germinates on the insects cuticle and prenetrates by pressure and enzymatic activity. As the fungus developes it competes with the insect for water and nutrients.
Insecticide behavioural & physiological effects
-
Substance source
Entomopathogenic fungus that occurs naturally in soils world-wide
Example manufacturers & suppliers of products using this active now or historically
Éléphant Vert Group
Morocco
Example products using this active
Formulation and application details
Usually formulated as oil-based products or as dry powders containing spores
Commercial production
Metarhizium acridum strain EVCH77 is produced commercially via a process that begins with a genetically verified master culture of EVCH77, maintained under strict identity and purity checks to ensure the strain remains stable and free of contaminants. This master culture is expanded through a series of inoculation steps into progressively larger liquid-culture fermenters or solid substrate systems, depending on the manufacturer’s preferred process. Growth conditions, temperature, aeration, pH, carbon source, and mineral balance, are optimised to maximise production of infective conidia. Once the culture reaches the target spore density, the biomass is harvested and processed through filtration, separation, and controlled drying (often fluid-bed drying) to preserve viability while preventing thermal damage.
Impact on climate of production and use
-
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Solubility - In water at 20 °C at pH 7 (mg l⁻¹)
-
-
-
Solubility - In organic solvents at 20 °C (mg l⁻¹)
-
-
-
Melting point (°C)
-
-
-
Boiling point (°C)
-
-
-
Degradation point (°C)
-
-
-
Flashpoint (°C)
-
-
-
Octanol-water partition coefficient at pH 7, 20 °C
P
-
-
-
Log P
-
-
-
Fat solubility of residues
Solubility
-
-
-
Data type
-
-
-
Density (g ml⁻¹)
-
-
-
Dissociation constant pKa) at 25 °C
-
-
-
-
Vapour pressure at 20 °C (mPa)
-
-
-
Henry's law constant at 25 °C (Pa m³ mol⁻¹)
-
-
-
Volatilisation as max % of applied dose lost
From plant surface
-
-
-
From soil surface
-
-
-
Maximum UV-vis absorption L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹
Metarhizium species have a multi-stage life-cycle comprising conidial attachment, germination, appressorial formation, and colonisation in the body cavity of the host insect.
-
-
Surface tension (mN m⁻¹)
-
-
-
Degradation
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
General biodegradability
-
Soil degradation (days)
DT₅₀ (typical)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ modelling endpoint
-
-
-
Note
-
Soil mineralisation
Aerobic (at 20 °C)
-
-
-
Anaerobic (at 20 °C)
-
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on and in plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous photolysis DT₅₀ (days) at pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous hydrolysis DT₅₀ (days) at 20 °C and pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Water-sediment DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Water phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Sediment phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Air degradation
As this parameter is not normally measured directly, a surrogate measure is used: ‘Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀’. Where data is available, this can be found in the Fate Indices section below.
Decay in stored produce DT₅₀
-
Soil adsorption and mobility
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Linear
Kd (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Koc (mL g⁻¹)
-
Notes and range
-
Freundlich
Kf (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Kfoc (mL g⁻¹)
-
1/n
-
Notes and range
-
pH sensitivity
-
Known metabolites
None
ECOTOXICOLOGY
Terrestrial ecotoxicology
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Mammals - Acute oral LD₅₀ (mg kg⁻¹)
-
-
-
Mammals - Short Term Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
-
-
-
Mammals - Long Term (Chronic) Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016) An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4), 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242
Your use of this website and its various databases is subject to the terms detailed in the University of Hertfordshire’s copyright and IPR statement that can be found at https://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/legal.
In addition, your use of this website and its various databases is subject to the terms of this additional Copyright Statement and the database Conditions of use document.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the content of this website and databases are owned and controlled by the University of Hertfordshire. Site content, including its selection and arrangement, is owned by the University of Hertfordshire and is protected by copyright and other laws.
Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law or within the database Conditions of Use document, the content of this site may not be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way without first obtaining the University of Hertfordshire’s written permission.
By using our databases the user is deemed to have agreed to comply with all of the terms and conditions as described above and within all relevant documentation.
