Since Sefina insecticide has been launched through BASF, farmers in India will be able to protect their crops and boost productivity. Offering a new mode of action for pest control, Sefina provides farmers with a powerful new tool to combat resistance as part of the integrated pest management program. Sefina is meant for use on cotton and other vegetable crops to control critical piercing-sucking insect pests such as jassids and whiteflies (both adults and early instar nymphs).
Sefina has a favorable environmental profile with no negative impact on important beneficial arthropods and pollinators. It is derived from a fermentation process of naturally occurring fungus and acts fast thereby quickly stopping insects from feeding after they come into contact with treated crops. This reduces nutrient loss and vectoring of harmful viral or bacterial pathogens, ultimately resulting in healthier plants that can help farmers achieve optimal yields with higher quality.
Sefina’s active ingredient Inscalis® was co-developed by BASF and Meiji, after initially being discovered by Japanese company Meiki Seika Pharma Co. Ltd. (Meiji) and Dr. Satoshi Omura of the Kitasato Institute, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in medicine. The collaboration was part of BASF’s ongoing efforts to discover, develop and bring new active ingredients that allow farmers to control crop pests in a more sustainable manner.
In India, BASF employs a dedicated team of nearly 200 crop protection experts to ensure market proximity, and is one of India’s leading providers of advanced crop protection solutions.