Valorization of Grape Pomace-Derived Bio-Pesticide via Yeast Capsules- Nano Carriers with Entomotoxic Potential

Bio-pesticide derived from wine industry waste could be a cleaner, green, and alternate source of sustainable pest management. Using bio-inspired materials as a pesticide, particularly from industrial waste, and reducing their disposal issues, can represent an attractive alternative to synthetic pesticides. In the current study, phytochemicals (PC) derived from grape pomace (GP) have been explored as an effective strategy for enhanced pesticide performance and reducing the burden of pesticides in agro-production. The PC was rich in volatile, fatty acid methyl esters and flavanone non-volatile. We demonstrate that PC as oil phase was loaded into designer yeast bio-capsule-producing nanocapsules (PCNC) via emulsification into water phase containing yeast under high-shear mixing. PCNC showed an average size of 32.2 nm and a spherical morphology, which was retained upon storage. The PCNC exhibited a relatively small (Δθ = 49.1°) contact angle, prominent spreading properties, and reduced volatility compared to reference product (Flonicamid water dispersible granules WDG, which is attributable to the nano-size. In addition, a single spray of PCNC afforded protection from white flies in brinjal (Solanum melongena) for 15 days. In general, no significant suppressive effect of PCNC was observed in the germination and growth of plants. It was concluded that PC production from GP waste could be efficiently employed as a feasible and environmentally sustainable approach in crop protection.