What is Isarid?
Isarid is Koppert’s wettable-powder mycoinsecticide based on the beneficial fungus Isaria fumosorosea strain FE 9901. The formulation contains live fungal spores. When those spores contact a susceptible insect or mite, they attach to the pest, germinate, penetrate the cuticle, and grow within the host. Feeding and activity decline, followed by death.
Because Isarid uses a living fungus rather than a conventional chemical mode of action, it fits especially well into resistance-management programs and alongside many biological controls growers may already be using.
Koppert technical consultants increasingly see growers making Isarid part of their regular maintenance program rather than treating it as an occasional intervention. The logic is straightforward: repeated applications maintain a larger population of spores in the crop environment. Instead of waiting for pest pressure to climb and then reacting, growers establish a standing first line of defense.
That is why Isarid can be considered a foundation product. If a grower has a limited biological-control budget and can start with only one broadly useful tool, Isarid is a strong place to begin.
What pests does it address?
One of Isarid’s greatest strengths is breadth. Koppert’s label includes whiteflies, aphids, thrips, psyllids, mealybugs, leafhoppers, plant bugs, weevils, grasshoppers, several beetles, mites, lygus bugs, fungus gnats and other pests.
In ornamental greenhouse production, two of the most important targets are whiteflies and fungus gnats. Isaria was originally identified on whitefly, and Isarid is particularly useful against whitefly during crops such as poinsettias. In propagation, growers use it against fungus gnat larvae and adults, making it useful at a stage when moisture and organic media can create ideal conditions for fungus gnat pressure.
Its range, however, is what makes it valuable as an IPM foundation. A grower may begin an application because fungus gnats are the immediate concern, but the same program is laying down biological pressure against a much wider group of potential pests. That broad coverage helps hold populations below damaging thresholds before individual pests become problems that demand more expensive or disruptive corrective action.
This is preventive IPM in practical terms: keeping pest populations low enough to protect the crop while preserving more options if pressure suddenly increases.
How is it applied?
Isarid fits into production from propagation through finished crops. It can be used as a drench, a sprench, or a foliar spray. In propagation, a drench or sprench can put the material into the growing medium where fungus gnat larvae are active. A thorough foliar application can also provide some double duty: material covers the foliage and, when applied heavily enough to drip, reaches the surface of the media as well.
For many growers, foliar spraying becomes the primary application method as crops move beyond propagation. Good coverage matters because the fungal spores must contact the target pest. Environmental conditions matter too. Isarid performs best under higher humidity; Koppert recommends 50 percent relative humidity or greater and suggests applying after watering or irrigation if humidity is lower.
The product is also grower-friendly to mix. It is a water-based wettable powder with a dextrose carrier, and Koppert’s field experience is that it goes into solution easily and moves through normal spray equipment without the mixing difficulties associated with some other biologically derived products.
Isarid can also work alongside other IPM tools. Koppert consultants commonly recommend tank mixing it with beneficial nematodes when appropriate. The nematodes provide fast activity, while Isarid contributes spores that can remain active afterward. That can combine two useful forms of control in a single labor pass. Isarid is also compatible with beneficial insects used in many biological programs. Chemical compatibility varies, particularly with fungicides, so growers should check the label and consult their Koppert technical representative when building tank mixes.
For growers using Isarid preventively, weekly application can become the basic rhythm. When pest pressure rises, the grower can supplement that baseline rather than abandoning it.
Advantages
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Low-cost IPM prevention
The strongest argument for a preventive Isarid program may be economic. The product is relatively inexpensive on a per-acre basis, particularly compared with the cost of allowing a pest population to become established.
A weekly biological application is an expense, but outbreaks are expensive too. They consume labor, require additional products, can reduce crop quality, and may force a grower to use chemistries that would be better reserved for serious pressure. Many conventional products also have limits on the number of applications allowed during a crop cycle. By keeping pest populations down, Isarid can help preserve those tools for the moments when they are genuinely needed.
The calculation is less about what one Isarid application costs and more about what a grower may not have to spend later. Preventing the problem is usually less expensive than cleaning it up.
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Fresh product, shipped direct from Koppert
Isarid contains living spores, so product handling and storage matter. Koppert stores the product under controlled refrigerated conditions and ships Isarid directly to growers. That shortens the distribution chain and helps protect product quality.
Freshness matters because biological material does not improve while it sits in inventory. Product that spends less time moving through intermediate warehouses reaches the grower with more of its useful storage life ahead of it. Direct shipping also means growers know where the product is coming from and who is supporting it.
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In stock now, with frequent shipping
For an IPM product to become part of weekly crop maintenance, it must be reliably available. Isarid is in stock now and can ship from Koppert up to four times a week. Growers can make Isarid part of the production calendar rather than waiting until a pest problem forces an emergency purchase.
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Technical support is included
The final advantage is the technical support that comes with it.
Koppert’s consultants do more than know the label. Many come from growing backgrounds and work directly with growers using biological controls in commercial crops. They understand how products behave in real production environments, how Isarid fits with nematodes and beneficial insects, and when another tool needs to be added because pest pressure has changed.
That support is included at no additional charge. A grower buying Isarid from Koppert is also buying direct access to a technical team with practical field experience.
That combination—broad pest coverage, easy application, compatibility with biological programs, low preventive cost, fresh direct shipment, dependable availability, and experienced technical support—is what makes Isarid more than another biopesticide. Used routinely, it becomes the first layer of crop protection: the foundation on which a stronger, more flexible IPM program can be built.
