(Also known as: polyhedral occlusion bodies of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Helicoverpa zea)
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.
Example manufacturers & suppliers of products using this active now or historically
Certis Bologicals
Example products using this active
Formulation and application details
Usually formulated as a liquid concentrate and applied as an aqueous spray
Commercial production
Commercial production of the virus relies on mass rearing live host larvae, because baculoviruses only replicate inside susceptible insects. Large numbers of Helicoverpa larvae are raised on artificial diet under controlled conditions, then deliberately infected with a calibrated dose of the virus. As the infection progresses, the larvae become filled with occlusion bodies (OBs) in their tissues. At the point of maximum viral yield, just before the larvae liquefy, they are harvested, homogenised, and filtered to release the OBs. The resulting slurry is purified through sieving, centrifugation, and washing steps to remove insect debris, leaving a concentrated suspension of polyhedral occlusion bodies.
Impact on climate of production and use
There are no published data available, however, commercial production is likely to have a relatively small climate footprint. The large insect rearing facilities that consume electricity for climate controlled rooms, ventilation, and diet preparation. The process requires no petrochemical synthesis, no high temperature reactions, and no solvent intensive purification steps. Once produced, the virus replaces chemical insecticides that typically have far higher embodied carbon, meaning its net contribution to climate change is low and often offset by the emissions avoided when growers switch from synthetic pesticides. A very rough estimate would be in the region of 12–50 kg CO₂-e per kg of formulated virus product.
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
-
-
-
Surface tension (mN m⁻¹)
-
-
-
Degradation
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
General biodegradability
Biodegradable
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)
> 50000
P4 P = Other non-EU, UK or US Governments and Regulators 4 = Verified data
Rat
Low
Mammals - Short Term Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
-
-
-
Mammals - Long Term (Chronic) Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
-
-
-
Birds - Acute LD₅₀ (mg kg⁻¹)
> 5000
P4 P = Other non-EU, UK or US Governments and Regulators 4 = Verified data
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
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Ecotoxicity
