Bacillus subtilis Y1336 in independent research worldwide

Bacillus subtilis Y1336 | BIOBAC WP / BIOSOL SC

Since 2009, universities and government research institutes in nine countries have studied Y1336. Some tested it directly; others chose it as the commercial biological reference when developing their own strains. None of these studies was run by Biontech.

At a glance

South America: Brazil

In Brazil, Y1336 is sold as BIOBAC® and is listed in the national pesticide system (Agrofit) for brassica crops.

Seven seasons of soybean white mold trials

• What they did: 15 universities, research stations and consultancies in six states ran uniform field trials over seven soybean seasons, then pooled the results in a meta-analysis. Bacillus products, BIOBAC among them, were compared with Trichoderma products and Bacillus + Trichoderma mixtures.
• Result: Bacillus products reduced the carpogenic germination of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum sclerotia by 10.6 percentage points against untreated plots. That was the largest effect of the three classes (Trichoderma 8.6, mixtures 7.0).
• Why it matters: a large, multi-year field dataset gathered across Brazil’s main soybean regions.

de Faria A.F. et al. (2022). Biological Control 176: 105080. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.105080. Australia’s Curtin University identifies the BIOBAC product in this study as Y1336 (Han et al., 2023).

Cauliflower black rot

• What they did: a doctoral study at the University of Brasília, with Embrapa Vegetables, compared eight registered products against black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris).
• Result: in the greenhouse, BIOBAC as a foliar spray (1 kg/100 L) was the best treatment on every measure. Lesion length was 1.73 cm against 3.33 cm in the water control, and infection points per leaf were 3.77 against 10.84. It outperformed copper oxychloride + mancozeb, kasugamycin and a strobilurin–triazole mix.
• Why it matters: a bacterial disease that few products control well.

Batista J.N.G. (2020). Black rot of crucifers in Brazil: etiology and management strategies in cauliflower. PhD thesis, University of Brasília, chapter 4.

Growth promotion in microgreens

• What they did: a master’s study at the University of São Paulo (ESALQ) compared Y1336 with a Trichoderma product on kale, radish and arugula microgreens grown indoors.
• Result: Y1336 applied to seed, or to seed and substrate, gave the most dry biomass in kale and arugula. It raised carotenoids in radish and arugula, and zinc, manganese and boron in the greens. The author concluded it was the most effective growth promoter tested.

Silva A.O. (2023). Master’s dissertation, University of São Paulo, ESALQ.

North Africa: Morocco and Tunisia

The National School of Agriculture in Meknès has studied Y1336 since at least 2013, both as a test subject and as the commercial benchmark for new strains.

Tomato leaf mold

• What they did: Moroccan researchers, with the University of Reims in France, screened local bacteria and fungi against Cladosporium fulvum and used Y1336 as the commercial reference.
• Result: in the greenhouse, Y1336 cut disease severity by 99.5%, the highest of all bacteria tested and on par with azoxystrobin (99.8%). Severity 30 days after inoculation was 0.2%.

Belabess Z. et al. (2024). Plants 13: 2213. doi:10.3390/plants13162213.

Sugar-beet damping-off

• What they did: the first study of Y1336 against Rhizoctonia solani damping-off in sugar beet, from the lab to a greenhouse seed-coating test.
• Result: Y1336 inhibited mycelial growth of two pathogen isolates by 73.27% and 74.43%, and the microscope showed broken and perforated hyphae. As a seed coating it raised seedling emergence. It also tolerated all four fungicides tested (azoxystrobin, difenoconazole, tebuconazole and trifloxystrobin), so it can be paired with them.

Farhaoui A. et al. (2024). The Microbe 5: 100164. doi:10.1016/j.microb.2024.100164.

Fire blight in orchards

• What they did: four seasons of orchard trials (2013–2016) under high disease pressure in the Meknès region, comparing commercial biocontrol bacteria and plant defence activators.
• Result: two sprays of Y1336 at 10% and 60% bloom reduced blossom infection by 53%, significantly better than water and in the same range as the other commercial biocontrol agents.

Ait Bahadou S. et al. (2017). Journal of Plant Pathology 99 (special issue): 51–58. doi:10.4454/jpp.v99i0.3909.

Tomato soil-borne disease in Tunisia

• What they did: a greenhouse trial by Tunisia’s IRESA regional research centre for horticulture and organic agriculture used BIOBAC® as the commercial biofungicide reference.
• Result: against the untreated control, wilt incidence fell by 63.1% and stem vascular browning by 74.1%. Root fresh weight was 31.80 g, the highest in the trial (control 20.17 g).

Aydi Ben Abdallah R. et al. (2026). Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 57: 32. doi:10.1007/s42770-025-01843-2.

East Asia: Japan, Korea and China

Japan: compatibility with 96 pesticides

Y1336 is registered in Japan as Batistar WP for gray mold and powdery mildew.

• What they did: Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), with Arysta LifeScience, first tested Y1336 against 97 pesticides on agar (2025), then 96 on cucumber leaves (2026), each at its Japanese registered concentration.
• Result: on leaves, 88 of 96 pesticides had little effect on Y1336 survival. Only cyazofamid and flonicamid cut survival below 10%; fluazinam, mancozeb, propineb, captan, chinomethionat and hexythiazox cut it to 10–20%.
• Why it matters: few biological products have a compatibility list of this size from a national research institute. Full details are in the Y1336 product overview.

Kubota M. et al. (2026). Annual Report of the Kansai Plant Protection Society 68: 102–107; Kubota M. et al. (2025). Annual Report of the Kanto-Tosan Plant Protection Society 73: 26–30.

Japan: one spray for whitefly and powdery mildew

• What they did: three greenhouse trials at the Miyagi Prefectural Agriculture and Horticulture Research Center sprayed tomatoes with Batistar WP (Y1336) and a Beauveria bassiana insecticide, alone and mixed.
• Result: the mixture controlled greenhouse whitefly by 78.9–88.3% and tomato powdery mildew by 47.2–81.0%, as well as each product alone. The two microbes did not interfere with each other.

Komagata Y. et al. (2024). Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 34: 18. doi:10.1186/s41938-024-00782-8.

Korea: safe for bumble bees

• What they did: Korea’s National Institute of Agricultural Sciences exposed bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) for two weeks to seven microbial products dispensed at the hive entrance, to choose products for bee-vectoring, in which pollinators carry a biocontrol agent to flowers.
• Result: Y1336 caused no significant increase in bee mortality and was selected as one of six products suitable for bee-vectoring. Each bee leaving the dispenser carried 1.27×10⁷ CFU of Y1336, the highest load of any product tested.

Park H.H. et al. (2020). Korean Journal of Pesticide Science 24(2): 180–185. doi:10.7585/kjps.2020.24.2.180. Cited as a bee-safe agent in Lee W. et al. (2024), Journal of Apiculture 39(1): 63–72.

Korea: fewer fungicide sprays on ginseng

• What they did: Chungnam National University combined three Bacillus subtilis products, Y1336 among them, with chemical fungicides against ginseng Alternaria blight.
• Result: tank-mixing a biofungicide with a chemical fungicide every 28 days gave 74.5–87.2% control and cut chemical fungicide use by 75–83%.

Li X. & Choi J.E. (2009). Research in Plant Disease 15(1): 17–22.

China: rose powdery mildew and flower quality

• What they did: the Flower Research Institute of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences tested Y1336 WP supplied by Biontech on greenhouse cut roses in Kunming.
• Result: control was 66.9–81.0% at 400-fold, 58.6–72.3% at 600-fold and 43.7–61.3% at 800-fold; the first two matched or beat chlorothalonil 75% at 500-fold. Available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil rose, cut-flower yield increased by 9.15–48.37%, and the share of A-grade flowers rose from 20.92% to 54.19%.

Wang L.H. et al. (2018). Southwest China Journal of Agricultural Sciences 31(12): 2569–2574.

Southeast Asia and Oceania: Vietnam and Australia

Vietnam: balloon-flower stem and root rot

• What they did: Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry compared six biological products in the field against Fusarium solani on balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus).
• Result: Biobac 50WP as a pre-planting soil treatment gave 60.84% preventive control after eight months, the best of all six products. Sprayed after symptoms appeared, it gave 50.84% control at two weeks and 60.00% at four. The authors recommend it for soil treatment before planting.

Ha T.D. et al. (2025). Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science 31(3): 560–566.

Australia: listed in an international review

A review of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum biocontrol by Curtin University, published in Biological Control, lists BIOBAC® (B. subtilis Y1336) among commercial biocontrol products for soil and cover-crop use.

Han V.C. et al. (2023). Biological Control 186: 105346. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105346.

Beyond agriculture: Taiwan

National Central University’s civil engineering department bought Y1336 from Biontech, immobilized it in silica gel and added it to engineered cementitious composite (ECC). The bacteria produce calcium carbonate that fills pores.

• With 5–15% Y1336 silica gel, 28-day compressive strength rose by 11.9–18.8%, with larger gains at 56 days; tensile strength and strain capacity also improved.
• Drying shrinkage, chloride diffusion and steel corrosion all decreased.

The spores’ tolerance of a harsh, alkaline cement mix is one more sign of how robust the strain is.

Cahyati M.D. et al. (2024). Case Studies in Construction Materials 20: e03165. doi:10.1016/j.cscm.2024.e03165; Loekito I.P. (2023). Master’s thesis, National Central University.

Notes

• Crops and diseases in these studies are not necessarily registered uses in every country. Always follow the label approved where you farm.
• Product names vary by market and study: BIOBAC, Biobac 50WP and Batistar WP all contain Bacillus subtilis Y1336.