Mycogen has received an experimental use permit (EUP) fromthe Environmental Protection Agency to initiate large-scalefield testing of M-Peril, a bioinsecticide that controls theEuropean corn borer, the company announced on Wednesday.

Shares of the San Diego company (NASDAQ:MYCO) picked up $2,closing at $14.

Mycogen will conduct trials during the 1992 growing seasonand expects to begin marketing M-Peril in 1993, said companyspokeswoman Marie C. Burke. She said that the product couldeventually achieve $20 million in annual sales. M-Peril usesCellCap, Mycogen's proprietary encapsulation technology.

In small-scale field trials in nine Midwestern states this year,M-Peril demonstrated equal or superior plant protection whencompared with chemical insecticides and bioinsecticidescurrently used, the company said.

Mycogen is currently selling two other bioinsecticides, MVP forprotection against caterpillars, and M-Trak, which is targetedagainst the Colorado potato beetle.

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