Koppert Brings Biological Foliar Fungicide Macan to Brazilian Soybean, Corn and Sugarcane Growers
19 October 2026, São Paulo: Dutch biologicals company Koppert has launched Macan, a biological foliar fungicide, for the Brazilian market, giving soybean, corn and sugarcane growers a microbial alternative to chemical fungicides as they plan disease control for the coming growing season.
The product is built on an exclusive strain of the bacterium Bacillus velezensis, catalogued as CECT 8237, which was first identified by researchers at the University of Málaga in Spain and developed into a commercial formulation by Koppert. Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) lists the product under registration number 24525, with Koppert as the registrant, and the formulation is sold at a concentration of 968.99 grams per litre, equivalent to 5 x 10^9 colony forming units per millilitre.
According to Koppert and Brazilian trade press, the product was registered in Brazil at the end of 2025 and the company announced the commercial launch on September 16, 2026, ahead of the 2026/27 season. Macan is registered against 13 disease targets in Brazil, and the company says further label expansions are in development. Field testing dates back to 2018.
Once sprayed, the bacteria become active on the leaf surface and form a biofilm that supports continued colonization, which Koppert says keeps the product active for at least 14 days. The company also says performance has held up in field trials where rain fell shortly after application, and that the formulation is stable across a range of spray pressures and water pH levels, making it compatible with many common crop protection products already used in Brazilian spray programs.
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The 13 disease targets registered for Macan in Brazil are:
- Corynespora cassiicola (target spot, soybean)
- Septoria glycines (brown spot, soybean)
- Cercospora kikuchii (purple seed stain, soybean)
- Phakopsora pachyrhizi (Asian soybean rust)
- Cercospora zeae-maydis (gray leaf spot, corn)
- Phaeosphaeria maydis (corn)
- Puccinia sorghi (common rust, corn)
- Physopella zeae (tropical rust, corn)
- Puccinia polysora (southern rust, corn)
- Colletotrichum falcatum (red rot, sugarcane)
- Cercospora longipes (sugarcane)
- Puccinia kuehnii (orange rust, sugarcane)
- Puccinia melanocephala (brown/sugarcane rust)
Koppert’s Chief Product Officer, Martin Koppert, described Macan as an important milestone in expanding the company’s biological crop protection portfolio. Thiago Castro, the company’s R&D Manager in Brazil, said development work showed the bacteria remain viable on the leaf throughout the 14-day activity window the company is marketing. Guido Roozemond, Koppert’s Global Category Lead for Bio-fungicides, said biological crop protection is becoming a more significant part of sustainable agriculture programs.
The launch adds to a wave of biological product introductions in Brazil’s soybean, corn and sugarcane belts, where growers are under pressure to manage fungicide resistance in pathogens such as Asian soybean rust while regulators and export markets push for lower chemical residue loads. A product that covers three of Brazil’s largest row crops with a single active organism, and that is positioned as compatible with existing spray programs rather than a wholesale replacement for them, is designed to fit directly into integrated disease management plans rather than compete against them.
Also Read: USDA Reports Record Soybean Yield, Bigger Corn Crop in October Forecast
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