Italian basil growers will have access to a new disease-management tool this season after Amoéba received a 120-day emergency authorization for its biofungicide AXPERA to help control basil downy mildew.

The authorization, granted by Italy’s Ministry of Health, allows the product to be used as a preventive treatment against basil downy mildew from June 5 to Oct. 2, 2026.

Basil downy mildew, caused by Peronospora belbahrii, is one of the most damaging diseases affecting fresh basil production. Under favourable conditions, it can reduce yields by 70 to 80 per cent and, in severe outbreaks, destroy an entire crop within days.

According to Amoéba, Italian growers have struggled with persistent disease pressure in recent years, driven by the susceptibility of local basil varieties and weather conditions that favour the pathogen. The challenge is particularly acute for organic producers, who represent about 30 per cent of the global basil market.

The emergency authorization was supported by Italian basil grower associations and provides producers with an additional disease-management option while the company pursues full product registration in Italy.

“Obtaining this 120-day emergency authorization in Italy marks a new step in the European roll-out of our biofungicide,” said Jean-Marc Petat, managing director of Green for Agro, Amoéba’s biosolutions subsidiary. “It makes it possible to address a concrete need of the sector in a strategic country for basil, which is facing strong downy mildew pressure and consumer demand for disease-control solutions that leave no residues.”

The approval also represents another step in Amoéba’s broader strategy to expand its biocontrol offerings across Europe through its partnership with Koppert.

Based in Chassieu, France, Amoéba develops microbiological solutions for agriculture and cosmetics using the amoeba Willaertia magna. The company says it is the only business currently authorized to use the organism industrially for biocontrol and cosmetic applications and the only one producing it at commercial scale.

The active substance behind AXPERA was approved in the United States in 2022, with product registration obtained there in 2025. Amoéba expects product registration in France during 2026, followed by approvals in other targeted European markets.

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