Development of an encapsulated bioagent with polymers produced from the sugarcane bagasse for application in agriculture

• Grant number: 19/05159-4
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal researcher: Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso
• Grantee: Camila Florencio Pereira Lopes
• Home Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales, AP.BIOEN.TEM

Abstract

The demand for new materials from renewable sources, potentially biodegradable and environmentally friendly has increased in view of the substitution of petroleum products and as the advent of globalization and industrialization become ever larger. This work is intended the development of a polymeric formulation for the encapsulation of a biological control agent - using carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and nanocellulose derived from agricultural waste generated in sugarcane processing (sugarcane bagasse). From underutilized residual lignin of the cellulose isolation to the CMC production will be produced a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, in addition nitrogen lignin can be used as a source of nitrogen for the fungus development. In an effort to provide applications with phytopathogenic actions, the granule will coat conidia of the Trichoderma sp. strain with the aim of increasing the viability of the microorganism and the efficiency of the process in the field application, since there is great demand for formulations that allow the expansion and use of biopesticides in conventional agriculture. The materials will be comprehensively characterized as to their morphological and structural properties, such as viscosity, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis, among others, will be used during the characterization of the materials. Special emphasis will be given to the biodegradability study of the polymeric formulation and viability regarding the storage time of encapsulated Trichoderma. (AU)