Cryptolaemus ladybird beetle eating citrus mealybug eggs
My body is tingling with the perceived sensation of mealybugs crawling on every inch of my skin. I am standing in a mealybug breeding room at Insectec in South Africa, the largest insectary in the Southern Hemisphere, staring at millions of these fluffy, white critters as they spread out on the butternuts that fill the room from floor to ceiling.
I’m not alone in my distress over the bugs. Any crop farmer faced with this many mealybugs would battle to keep their heart rate at bay, knowing the monumental damage these insects can cause to their crops, and subsequently their bank balances. But breeding the mealybugs en masse is a necessary step to control them on farms, without having to resort to harsh chemicals.
Soft and juicy, the mealybugs make a terrific meal for a host of insects such as parasitic wasps and predatory beetles that don’t pose any danger to agricultural crops themselves. Having a critical mass of these insects in fields, means that any mealybugs present quickly become lunch, leaving the crops to grow undamaged and fit for market. Breeding enough of these beneficial predators means being able to supply them with the food they need to grow, before they can be released into the fields. Hence the starting point for breeding beneficials, is breeding their prey and the pest that is ultimately aimed to be eliminated.
Maintaining market accessThe increasing clampdown on the use of synthetic chemicals in controlling agricultural pests is evermore leading farmers to look to nature for solutions. For farmers who rely on market access to the European Union (EU), it means complying with a host of laws
dictating maximum residue levels (MRLs) of chemicals on produce. In many cases, it means chemicals can’t be used at all.
Karel van Heerden, CEO of Insectec, explains that while chemicals still have their place on most farms in South Africa, when mealybug infestations are at their highest on citrus farms, farmers are unable to apply any chemicals lest they exceed their MRLs. “Predatory insects are a perfect solution. They eliminate the mealybugs, and once this food source dwindles – which usually coincides with the end of their lifecycle in anyway – the insects die. So there is never a build up of these insects in the orchards, which could create another imbalance in the biodiversity of the farm.”
Insectec is the newest insectary in South Africa, joining three others, having opened in 2015, to meet the needs of fresh produce farmers in South Africa. Since South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus fruit globally, the market for beneficial insects for this crop specifically is growing.
Biological control techniques as we know them today started to emerge in the 1870s with much progress made in the United States (U.S.). Today, the country is still one of the largest users of beneficial insects and is expected to dominate the beneficial insects market since it is one of the fastest growing segments of the crop protection market. Consumers are also pushing for more organic food. This is also driving growth in the EU, where farmers are struggling with pest resistance to synthetic chemicals and a ban on essential active components.
Globally, the beneficial insect market was worth USD$324 million in 2021, and is estimated to reach $574 million by 2028. This is in contrast to the pesticide market, which is worth $217 billion, according to a report by Business Research Insights. The compound annual growth rate of the former, however, far exceeds the latter, coming in at an estimated 8.4 percent between 2021 and 2028, compared to the three percent of pesticides during the same period.
Vegetables, fruits and ornamentals make up the majority of crops on which beneficial insects are used, of which production in especially greenhouses dominate uptake. Some of the most widely used beneficial insects are ladybugs, predatory mites, green lacewings, parasitic wasps and predatory beetles. The beneficial insects are used to diminish populations of mostly mealybug, thrips, white fly,
spider mites, fruit fly, and a range of moths and beetles.
Shachar Carmi, vice president of sales and marketing at Biobee, notes beneficial insects are already present in most agricultural fields. “But the reason we could build a company on breeding them is because, for them to be effective, there needs to be the right quantity at the right time to take care of the pest infestations. Nature will eventually ‘send’ the beneficials, but by that time the crop is damaged. The economic threshold for damage to crops is three percent. Anything more than that and the farmer is out of business. So the solution needs to be there quickly and be effective.”
Biobee, whose head office is situated in Israel, is celebrating 40 years in the industry this year, having started out like most Israeli agricultural companies – on a kibbutz. The traditionally organic production methods meant that farmers quickly had to find solutions to pests that did not include any synthetic chemicals. The first breeding program took place in an old bomb shelter in Israel’s Valley of Springs. After proving successful in the kibbutz, the business was established and grown to where it is today.
Carmi admits the road has not been easy, and that challenges prevail. “Biocontrol is a lot more complicated than chemical control. With the latter, farmers follow a set spray program. When you introduce biocontrol, there is a whole system of timing the chemicals and beneficial pest releases. Certain chemicals are very harsh and can’t be used in a system with beneficial insects at all. Farmers need to understand lifecycles of the pests and do continuous monitoring in the orchards. It’s not simple, and it is not easy.
“From a company perspective, we need to provide a complete solution that works, often in tandem with chemicals.”
Identifying an insect that is effective in controlling a pest is perhaps the easiest part of the road to commercializing a product, since much research already exists. But the insects need to be safely reared, en masse, all year round, and at a profit. A controlled environment is needed and they must be provided with food – with each species having their own requirements. Some insects will only eat the pest itself, so you have to produce the pest to produce the beneficials.
“The insects then need to be able to withstand the journey from the breeding facility to the field, sometimes crossing oceans. Trials are conducted on an ongoing basis to improve breeding and shipping techniques; and the industry is full of trade secrets, with each company closely guarding their production methods,” says Carmi.
Products also need to be registered for use in each country where they are sold, which can be a very short – or a very long – process. “Some countries recognize there is less risk in using beneficial insects and the registration process is therefore fairly simple and easy. Other countries want to regulate it like chemicals, and then the process of registration can take up to five years,” explains Carmi. “The registration process is also easier when the beneficial insect already occurs naturally because then it is not a potential invader species that is being brought into the country.”
Mass breedingAt the very beginning of the process to breed the insects is sourcing good quality food. For the mealybugs that are needed to rear the parasitoids and predators at Insectec, a diet of butternuts is provided. This is the ideal food for mealybug rearing since it has a shelf life of up to five months. If citrus was to be used instead, the fruit would need to be replaced every two weeks.
Mealybugs are placed on butternuts to feed and breed, so that they can be fed to the beneficial insects. Photo: Lindi Botha
Insectec sources around 16 tonnes of butternuts per week from selected farmers in the area. Butternuts need to conform to size and quality specifications, and can’t be grown using any systemic pesticides. “You are what you eat, so sourcing good quality butternuts is a very important step in the process. If the butternuts are bad quality, then the whole breeding process falls flat,” says Nadine Botha, technical
field service representative at Insectec.
The vegetables are washed, sterilized, and placed in a temperature-controlled room where adult mealybugs are placed on the butternuts to breed. Once the population on a butternut has reached a critical point, the butternut is then transferred to the adjacent facility to feed the predators and parasitoids.
Insectec’s production is focused on parasitic wasps Anagyrus vlamimiri and Coccidoxenoides perminutus, and predatory beetles Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Nephus kamburovi. Once released into the orchards, these insects will start feeding on the mealybugs, and breeding, increasing their numbers exponentially. Botha notes it is the second and third generation of insects that do the most work in eliminating the mealybugs.
Part of the process to ensure maximum efficacy is ensuring the insects released into the orchards are of top quality. A stringent quality control process is followed, where each batch of insects is inspected under a microscope. Attention is paid to their longevity and the hatching percentage of their eggs. There also needs to be a correct ratio of male to female insects in each batch sent to the orchard to ensure breeding is optimal.
A very sensitive part in obtaining maximum efficacy in biocontrol is sending the product along the value chain and into the orchards – a journey in which the environment is not as controlled as in the breeding facility.
Insects are placed in containers in the breeding facility to transport them to the farms. The containers are hung in the trees and the container opened to release the bugs.
Photo: Lindi Botha
The insects are placed into small containers for transporting. These are then opened when they are placed in the orchard or field so the insects can make their way out onto the farm. A cold chain needs to be maintained for these insects to survive, not to mention a minimal amount of time in the container lest they starve. To prolong longevity and keep the insects in optimum condition, the Biobest Group has developed a new container that includes a full-field feeding system.
The cardboard carton contains honeycomb paper to protect the sensitive, delicate winged mirid bug (Macrolophus pygmaeus), while a gel formulation provides water for the adults during transit. Ines de Craecker, Biobest’s product manager of beneficials, says the new containers enhance insect activity, leading to improvements in whitefly control. It also makes predator release easier and faster, helping to save labour, and is 100 percent biodegradable, which means the carton can be left in the crop, reducing growers’ waste disposal costs.
The company has gone one step further in boosting their insects in the fields by supplementing their food source on the farm. A protein rich solution is blown along the release rows for four to six weeks after the first introduction of the insects.
SuperbugsPests that have developed resistance to pesticides are one of the main reasons why uptake of beneficial insects is growing. But if these pests could develop resistance to chemicals, could beneficial insects not be bred to have the same resistance, and eliminate the issue surrounding timing chemicals and biocontrols? With the advent of gene editing, and last year’s release of a database of 19 insect genomes, this may well be possible in the future.
The database includes some of the most common pest threats faced by farmers, including wireworm, cabbage stem flea beetle and pollen beetle, as well as other globally important species. It is hoped the new database will help speed up the development of novel pest control approaches that can overcome pest resistance and create more nature friendly solutions to crop protection.
The four-year Pest Genome Initiative (PGI), a consortium of Rothamsted Research, Syngenta and Bayer, sequenced the genomes, adding information about what individual genes code for.
Rothamsted’s professor Linda Field says this research will help develop non-chemical pest control methods, such as changing insect behaviour by manipulating genes that control how insects find mates and host plants, and then shepherd them away from crops.
“Previously, detailed genomes had been assembled for only a handful of the planet’s one million plus insect species – and even fewer of these were crop pests,” says Field. “Now, with these higher quality genomes available, we can better understand how resistance to pesticides evolves. It will also improve our understanding of insect chemical communication channels, opening up the possibility of non-lethal control methods that ‘hijack’ insect behaviour.”
Predatory beetles are bred to eliminate mealybugs in the orchard.They go through a stringent quality control process to ensure theyare able to breed in the orchards.
In recognition of the fact that the future of pest management will involve both better targeted chemicals and other techniques, the project also assembled the genomes of three beneficial insects: the European hoverfly and the pirate bug, both of which predate crop pest species, as well as a species of parasitoid wasp that lays its eggs inside the cabbage stem flea beetle. Field says: “It’s important we understand differences between insect species, so that we can both protect crops from pests and conserve beneficials.”
Beneficial to communities An interesting spin off from Insectec’s operations in this remote part of South Africa is that women from the surrounding community have been uplifted.
Much of the world’s fruit crops are produced in third world countries, where rural communities often face the challenge of low education, limited job opportunities and low wages for manual labour. For insectaries serving these farms, proximity is key, and they therefore face the challenge of finding skilled workers. For Insectec, this challenge was turned into an opportunity to teach locals in the community unique skills.
“No tertiary institutions provide training to breed insects the way we do,” says van Heerden. “Finding the right staff requires choosing those who are willing to learn. The beauty of this process is that not only are we fulfilling a need for pest control, but the whole operation contributes so much more to the wider community by providing jobs and skills to people who would otherwise only have low-skilled manual farm labour as employment options.”
Of the 86 permanent employees, around 80 percent have only high school as a qualification, and most have never heard of an insectary. After receiving extensive training, workers quickly climb the corporate ladder, fulfilling leadership roles in the company.
“We are extremely proud of what they have achieved,” says van Heerden. “They, in turn, are also motivating the other junior staff to better themselves and work their way up. And the spin-off is the most important – there are 86 families that can put food on the table and better the lives of their families.”
The specialized skills the employees are learning are set to be in high demand in years to come as farmers increasingly look towards biological methods of pest control.
As van Heerden notes, “There is so much potential for beneficial insects – we haven’t even scratched the surface. This is the next logical answer in the pest control industry. There are a lot of crops with a lot of problems that can be solved with biocontrol. The scope for expansion is huge. In our area alone, avocados, macadamias and blueberries are big industries, also focused on export markets that have zero MRL tolerance. I think these are the next industries that will see big developments in biocontrol.” ●
Predatory insects are a perfect solution.
...there is never a buildup of these insectsin the orchards, which could create another imbalance in the biodiversity of the farm.
Trials are conducted on an ongoing basis to improve breeding and shipping techniques…
Enter BigSis, a revolutionary company that has reinvented the sterile insect technique (SIT) by automating the individualized production of sterile male insects.
According to company founder and CEO Glen Slade, British R&D-based company BigSis is democratizing SIT by making it available to individual growers for a wide range of commercially important agricultural pests. He notes that historically, most SIT projects have been government-led projects due to the high costs involved.
“To make SIT an accessible tool for all growers, our first step has been to reduce the cost per hectare of SIT by over 90 percent through our proprietary automated sterile male insect production system,” says Slade. “Secondly, we are deploying our SIT solutions through local ‘micro-production units’ which, compared to larger scale factories, minimize the journey to field and eliminate trans-boundary movements of insects.”
Starting with insects where growers are desperate for new solutions, BigSis progressively addresses dozens of commercially valuable pest targets. Its leading solution, which is to control spotted wing drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii), is already being sold commercially.
“This fruit fly is adapted to piercing the skin of unripe fruit to lay its eggs, causing significant crop damage if untreated,” notes Slade. “It represents a huge unmet need for soft fruit growers worldwide, costing up to £11,000 per hectare just for this one pest. Some of these costs are cash purchases such as chemical insecticides and replacement biocontrols (for the ones killed by chemical insecticides), but the majority of the expense is additional labour to pick more frequently and maintain impeccable hygiene to minimize breeding sites.”
BigSis has also completed the laboratory stages of development for its solution for codling moth, which is the principal global pest of apples and pears. This year the company will begin laboratory work on solutions for new species.
The big pictureUsed for over 60 years, SIT is a platform technology for the control of insect pests in which sterile males of the pest species are produced and then released on-farm, where they mate with wild females. These females have no offspring, so the target pest is suppressed.
BigSis solutions are based on a proprietary, reinvented approach to producing sterile male insects, using robotics and artificial intelligence.
“I became passionate about the sterile insect technique (SIT) when I saw it applied in practice to mosquito control in Brazil,” says Slade. “SIT’s effect is greater than chemicals and more enduring, in addition to being harmless to the ecosystem and the environment. I founded BigSis when I realized that automation and artificial intelligence could solve the historic problem of affordably sorting millions of insects per week while avoiding the regulatory quagmire associated with using genetically modified insects to address this.
“Our insects are always local strains of the pest,” adds Slade. “Furthermore, the BigSis solution is fully scalable by replication, which is therefore very low risk compared to the alternative of designing new biological production systems for each new scale of factory.”
Using computer vision for sex sorting makes light work of an impossibly laborious task. BigSis removes female insects to ensure the released males are fully focused on finding and mating with wild females. In the case of SWD, the company’s first Insect Control Solution, it also avoids crop damage from flies piercing fruit to lay eggs.
BigSis sterilizes the male insects with a proprietary X-ray system that leaves them fitter than other methods. The ability to handle each insect individually ensures that X-rays are targeted at the insect’s genitals, rather than the whole insect.
Slade says the BigSis Insect Control Solution also transforms the delivery of SIT. For instance, the company uses micro-production units that minimize transport distances, while the automation enables efficient, small-scale production. For example, a typical micro-production unit needs just 3,000 sq ft and can produce more than one million sterile male insects per week. That is enough to treat over 3,000 acres. Exact numbers of sterile males and acres treated varies by species.
The company also uses local production and native strains which optimizes mating compatibility and reduces regulatory hurdles. “Some species exhibit significant differences in mating compatibility across geographies, influenced by climate or day-length, for example,” says Slade. “Working with local native strains avoids this problem, as well as environmental and biosecurity concerns associated with moving insects across borders.”
Slade adds that one of the biggest differences that growers value is that BigSis delivers its insect control solution as a service. “So, there is no need for the grower to learn how to optimize application, find additional labour or resolve scheduling conflicts,” explains Slade. “A BigSis worker comes on site typically twice per week to make releases and swap our monitoring traps. Another important differentiated feature of our service is that we provide a weekly map of the SWD pest population in the treated area.
“We start releases early in the season so that our sterile males
easily outnumber the wild males; this sustains a low pest population and maintains our numbers advantage, which is critical to keeping good control.”
The company’s SWD control solution has a sales potential of hundreds of millions of pounds per year, notes Slade, but BigSis SIT is a platform technology and it plans to launch dozens of additional solutions very quickly. Its development and implementation process is low cost and becomes progressively quicker, because adapting its automated production system to a new species is simple and quick compared to developing the first solution. Moreover, there is no or minimal regulatory barrier to commercial sales in most jurisdictions.
“For 2023, the solution is available only in England,” says Slade. “At this time, we have over 100 hectares sold with a waiting list operating once we confirm our production capacity. We have a multi-channel sales approach, so expect the solution to be available through all the main horticulture distributors, although these partnerships are still to be formalized and will be more focused on the 2024 season.”
Moving forwardCodling moth (apple maggot) is considered to be one of the most destructive pests of apple and pears, leaving fruit unfit for human consumption. Farmers have gotten used to controlling codling moth with chemical insecticide programs, accepting the residual yield loss, typically two to three percent. According to Washington State University in the U.S. state of Washington – where most of the country’s apples are grown – annual losses from codling moth are estimated at more than USD$500 million. But in Canada, where an SIT program has been running for more than 20 years, farmers have managed to reduce their yield loss to less than 0.2 percent.
BigSis is working on a codling moth solution, with field trials planned for 2024, leading to commercial launch in 2025.
“BigSis is currently focusing on horticultural pests, since these crops have higher value per hectare and a strong focus on reducing chemicals, particularly when consumed fresh,” says Slade. “As our cost of production falls with experience, we will address insect pests of commodity crops. Since our development costs are so low, we can tackle secondary pests where necessary, too. In the longer term, BigSis will also address non-agricultural pests including mosquitoes.”
Further planned Insect Control Solutions include olive fly (Bactrocera oleae), European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).
“Much horticultural produce is consumed fresh, so consumers want zero chemical residues and no genetic modifications,” notes Slade. “SIT provides a more powerful and enduring solution than chemical insecticides, which translates to better marketable yield and quality for the grower.
“Of course, growers also care about the sustainability of their growing practices, which ensures the long-term viability of their farms and the planet. Reducing chemical insecticide applications by introducing SIT, which is species-specific, is great for biodiversity.” ●
BigSis’ solution, which is to control spotted wing drosophila (pictured), is already being sold commercially.
BigSis’ first Insect Control Solution avoids crop damage from SWD piercing fruit tolay eggs.
Glen Slade, BigSis CEO
Our insects are always local strains of the pest.
Beneficial Insectary has acquired 100 percent of the equity in its distributor Sierra Biological Inc. Owned by Biobest Group NV, Beneficial Insectary operates facilities in the U.S. and Canada for the purposes of mass-rearing insect hosts and natural enemies.
Casey Decker, managing director of Sierra Biological, will continue to lead Sierra Biological and operate as an independent distributor with a regional focus in the U.S. northeast.
According to Cliff Noorlander, CEO of Beneficial Insectary, the new partnership “consolidates our
long-standing relationship with Sierra Biological. We’ll be able to realize many operational synergies which will allow Casey (Decker) to focus even more on serving his customers.”
In addition to operational synergies, Sierra Biological will bring certain in-house production and research programs to the partnership. Sierra’s technologies include nematodes and new technologies to control cannabis pests, “which we will aim to leverage as part of our offering to this important market segment,” said Noorlander. ●
Bacteria use CRISPR-Cas systems as adaptive immune systems to withstand attacks from enemies like viruses. These systems have been adapted by scientists to remove or cut and replace specific genetic code sequences in a variety of organisms.
But in a new study, North Carolina State University (U.S.) researchers show that viruses engineered with a CRISPR-Cas system can thwart bacterial defenses and make selective changes to a targeted bacterium – even when other bacteria are in close proximity.
“Viruses are very good at delivering payloads. Here, we use a bacterial virus, a bacteriophage, to deliver CRISPR to bacteria, which is ironic because bacteria normally use CRISPR to kill viruses,” said Rodolphe Barrangou, the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The virus in this case targets E. coli by delivering DNA to it. It’s like using a virus as a syringe.”
The NC State researchers deployed two different engineered bacteriophages to deliver CRISPR-Cas payloads for targeted editing of E. coli, first in a test tube and then within a synthetic soil environment created to mimic soil – a complex environment that can harbour many types of bacteria.
Both the engineered bacteriophages, called T7 and lambda, successfully found and then delivered payloads to the E. coli host on the lab bench. These payloads expressed bacterial florescent genes and manipulated the bacterium’s resistance to an antibiotic.
The researchers then used lambda to deliver a so-called cytosine base editor to the E. coli host. Rather than CRISPR’s sometimes harsh cleaving of DNA sequences, this base editor changed just one letter of E. coli’s DNA, showing the sensitivity and precision of the system. These changes inactivated certain bacterial genes without making other changes to E. coli.
“We used a base editor here as a kind of programmable on-off switch for genes in E. coli. Using a system like this, we can make highly precise single-letter changes to the genome without the double-strand DNA breakage commonly associated with CRISPR-Cas targeting,” said Matthew Nethery, a former NC State Ph.D. student and lead author of the study.
Finally, the researchers demonstrated on-site editing
through the use of a fabricated ecosystem (EcoFAB) loaded with a synthetic soil medium of sand and quartz, along with liquid, to mimic a soil environment. The researchers also included three different types of bacteria to test if the phage could specifically locate E. coli withinthe system.
“In a lab, scientists can oversimplify things,” Barrangou said. “It’s preferable to model environments, so rather than soup in a test tube, we wanted to examine real-life environments.”
The researchers inserted lambda into the fabricated ecosystem. It showed good efficiency in finding E. coli and making the targetedgenetic changes.
“This technology is going to enable our team and others to discover the genetic basis of key bacterial interactions with plants and other microbes within highly controlled laboratory environments such as EcoFABs,” said Trent Northen, a scientist at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) who collaborates with Barrangou.
“We see this as a mechanism to aid the microbiome. We can make a change to a particular bacterium and the rest of the microbiome remains unscathed,” Barrangou said. “This is a proof of concept that could be employed in any complex microbial community, which could translate into better plant health.”
The researchers plan to further this work by testing the phage CRISPR technique with other soil-associated bacteria. Importantly, this illustrates how soil microbial communities can be manipulated to control the composition and function of bacteria associated with plants in fabricated ecosystems to understand how to enhance plant growth and promote plant health, which is of broad interest for sustainable agriculture. ●
Model grass Brachypodium distachyon plant grown on liquid media. Photo courtesy of Marta Torres, m-CAFEs postdoctoral researcher, Deutschbauer lab, Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology.
Photo: ©The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
A new study has analyzed the potential of a bacterium for biological control of the fungus Hemileia vastatrix, which causes coffee rust,a major challenge for Brazilian coffee growers. An article on the study is published in the journalBMC Microbiology.
The symptoms of coffee rust are yellow spots like burn marks on the leaves of the plant. The disease impairs photosynthesis, making foliage wither and preventing bean-producing cherries from growing until the tree resembles a skeleton. It is typically controlled by the use of copper-based pesticides, which can have adverse effects on the environment.
“We wanted to understand how bacteria that live on coffee leaves can withstand both the compounds produced by the coffee plant and the stresses of rain and sun," said Jorge Maurício Costa Mondego, last author of the article. The researchers decided to find out whether bacteria that inhabit coffee leaves can combat the fungus that causes coffee rust. The first step consisted of identifying the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of Coffea arabica and C. canephora produced by the Brazilian Coffee Genome Project (Projeto Genoma EST-Café).
The researchers found sequences they considered contaminating in the midst of the coffee leaf ESTs. "We took these sequences, fed them into the database, and concluded that they appeared to be from Pseudomonas spp, a genus of bacteria," Mondego said. “This stimulated the curiosity of our research group, which was led by Gonçalo Pereira, also a professor at UNICAMP. We asked ourselves, 'What if we've done metagenomics without meaning to? Do these bacteria really live on coffee leaves?'”
Mondego and his team isolated bacteria from the coffee leaves and put them in a culture medium. Under ultraviolet light, it is possible to characterize Pseudomonas, which looks purple and can easily be selected in the medium. "We collected the bacteria, extracted their DNA and sequenced one, which we called MN1F," he said.
They made several interesting discoveries about MN1F, which has a secretion system that reflects its need to survive in a hostile environment full of fungi and other bacteria. "The secretion system produces antibacterial and antifungal compounds. That suggested it could be used for biological control," Mondego said. They also detected a number of proteins associated with protection against water stress.
The next step entailed physiological experiments, whereby bacteria were cultured in different media to confirm the researchers' observations regarding the genome. "The biological experiments proved several inferences correct. We showed that the bacterium does indeed have a considerable capacity to withstand strong osmotic pressure, which can be considered analogous to the effects of drought on coffee leaves," Mondego explained. “Furthermore, MN1F is capable of degrading phenolic compounds that can be harmful to it. It breaks down these compounds from the plant and converts them into material for its own survival.”
The researchers then conducted a battery of tests to find out if MN1F could be used for biological control, preventing or inhibiting the development of H. vastatrix, the fungus that causes coffee rust. The tests took place under greenhouse and laboratory conditions, including an attempt to inhibit in vitro germination of the fungus. In all experiments, the bacterium proved capable of inhibiting the development of spores (reproductive units) and mycelium (the filamentous network containing the fungus's genetic material). ●
Necrotic spots of coffee rust Hemileia vastatrix on the upper surface of a coffee leaf.
Coffee rust Hemileia vastatrix pustules on leaf underside.
Bayer and the agricultural biotech company Oerth Bio have entered a collaboration seeking to develop the next generation of more sustainable crop protection products. The unique protein degradation technology used by Oerth Bio has the potential to generate products that support Bayer’s sustainability objective to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, via lower application rates and favourable safety profiles.
Oerth Bio was founded in 2019 by Bayer’s impact investment arm, Leaps by Bayer, and Arvinas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the way in the development of targeted protein degradation therapeutics. Initially developed to fight human diseases like cancer and other difficult to treat diseases, Oerth’s patented PROTAC (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera) protein degradation technology provides an innovative pathway to entirely novel crop protection and climate resilient farm solutions. Oerth Bio remains the first and only company researching agricultural PROTAC solutions.
Oerth Bio’s targeted protein degraders offer the capacity for high-precision product development, low application rates, and paths to overcome biological resistance. Oerth molecules are designed to interact with only one target protein, and safeguard off-target/beneficial organisms. These attributes combine to offer a pathway for the development of novel crop protection products that are sustainable and effective. PROTAC molecules activate a specific naturally occurring process within target species. The impact is expected to be precise and limited to interrupting the specific targeted processes in weeds, diseases or insects that impact crops negatively.
Oerth Bio is simultaneously developing several novel agricultural applications in nascent crop efficiency and plant resilience segments, ensuring PROTAC technology can be utilized to its full potential, and provide maximum utility to farmers and the greater food system. ●
Oerth Bio scientists evaluating PROTAC molecules in vitro.
Photo: Oerth Bio
BioWorks has launched BotryStop WP, a newly formulated biological fungicide for prevention and control of Botrytis.
For indoor and outdoor use, BotryStop WP was developed specifically to address Botrytis in ornamental, nursery, food and medicinal plants.
BotryStop WP’s active ingredient, Ulocladium oudemansii (U3 Strain), has a unique mode of action that prevents and controls Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Monilinia spp., Xanthomonas and other foliar pathogens.
Approved for organic and conventional IPM programs, BotryStop WP is a wettable powder formulation that is stable at room temperature for 12 months, and is compatible with many chemical and biological control options.
BotryStop WP is registered by the EPA and 49 states. California registration is pending and expected later in 2023. Filing with PMRA in Canada is pending. ●
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and Australia water company, Seqwater, are using a tiny defender – a weevil smaller than a grain of rice – to help stop an exotic weed spreading through Australia’s waterways.
Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana) is a fast-spreading aquatic weed from South America and unless addressed, could take over many of Australia’s waterways.
After years of research in South America and Australia, scientists have released cabomba’s ancient enemy, the cabomba weevil (Hydrotimetes natans), into Lake Kurwongbah, a water asset managed by Seqwater, north of Brisbane. This is the first release of a biocontrol agent against cabomba anywhere in the world.
CSIRO scientist Kumaran Nagalingam said cabomba was originally introduced to Australia in 1967 as an aquarium plant and has since spread along the east coast of Australia from Cairns to Melbourne. Cabomba grows up to five centimetres a day, strangling native ecosystems, choking waterways, and impacting native aquatic animal and plant populations.
CSIRO scientist Kumaran Nagalingam said their research in South America shows that the cabomba weevil spends its entire life feeding only on cabomba, and extensive research in Australian quarantine has confirmed the cabomba weevil is not a risk to native plant species. The cabomba weevil was tested on 17 Australian plant species closely related to cabomba as the most likely plants to be a potential food source for the weevil. Native plant species were offered to three generations of weevils to eat for their entire life cycle. The weevils ignored the Australian plants, feeding only on cabomba.
According to Seqwater senior research scientist David Roberts, it has been 19 years since Seqwater supported the first efforts to find a biocontrol agent for cabomba in its home country of Argentina. “It is great to finally see a successful control agent that is ready for use in south-east Queensland to halt the ongoing spread of this costly weed,” he noted.
In line with Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry protocols, every cabomba weevil was inspected for hitchhikers in the form of parasites or pathogens before leaving quarantine. The weevils were then mass-reared in glasshouses so there are enough of them for a successful field release.
Seqwater, in consultation with CSIRO, has constructed a purpose-built weevil nursery near Lake Kurwongbah. Further releases of
weevils are planned for Lake MacDonald, near Noosa. CSIRO is also investigating releases in central Queensland, northern NSW, and potentially the Northern Territory. ●
Cabomba weevil is the first biological control used against cabomba not a risk to native plant species.
Photo: CSIRO
ADVERTORIAL Genomaat by Futureco Bioscience
Are you struggling with low vine performance and soil health? See how Futureco Bioscience's Genomaat can help optimize your vineyard management practices.
Summary
This case study highlights the benefits of Futureco Bioscience's Genomaat tool in precision vineyard management. Genomaat utilizes soil metagenomic analysis to uncover soil microbiome composition and biological functions. These, provide valuable data on soil health and its impact on yield and crop quality. The study has been conducted on a vineyard in Catalonia (Spain), and the results demonstrated that Genomaat was highly effective in (1.) identifying soil health issues and (2.) providing recommendations for targeted interventions. By analyzing soil microbial community, Genomaat identified a dysbiotic microbiome, with low levels of phosphorus solibilizing microorganisms, which could affect vine vigor. This knowledge, integrated with physico-chemical analyses, information on cultural practices and a holistic view of the cropping system, led to the recommendation of specific interventions: in this particular case the use of microbial solutions and soil bioenhancers to restore a functional microbial network. The results were substantial, with a significant improvement in vine vigor and soil health, which is likely to have an impact on yield and wine quality in the medium term. The efficacy of Genomaat demonstrates the importance of integrating precision crop management in modern agriculture, and the benefits of using cutting-edge technology to support sustainable and efficient farming practices. Futureco Bioscience's Genomaat program offers to farmers a powerful tool to optimize crop production while protecting the environment.
Background
The Penedes region in Spain is renowned for its unique soil characteristics, which allows locals to produce exceptional quality of wines. The region's soils are complex, predominantly calcareous, with a high content of limestone, clay, and silt, providing excellent drainage and moisture retention. The pH of the soil is usually between 7.2 and 7.8, which is considered slightly alkaline, and the soils are generally low in organic matter. In our case, a high-end winery located in the Penedes area in Catalunya (Spain), has a vineyard of Macabeo. Macabeo, or Viura, is Spain’s fifth-most widely planted grape. Macabeo is a fairly adaptable grape variety, though it tends not to work so well in overly damp or dry climates. The plot studied has a silty-clay loam soil, with pH 7 and organic matter between 0.3 and 0.7, and it is managed without irrigation. The technicians had noticed that in one of their plots (5 Ha open field without irrigation), there were areas with a difference in vine vigor that they could not explain.
Low vine vigor is a common problem in vineyards, and it can have a significant impact on grapes quality and yield. When vines are not adequately vigorous, they produce fewer shoots and leaves, which can result in reduced photosynthesis and grapes with lower sugar production. This can lead to lower yields and lower-quality fruit, as the grapes may not ripen fully or develop the desired flavors and aromas. In addition, low vine vigor can make the vines more susceptible to disease and pest infestations, as they may not have the energy reserves to fight off these threats. Addressing the underlying causes of low vine vigor is essential for maintaining a healthy and productive vineyard.
Solution
To address the low vine vigor, the grower used Genomaat's services to analyze the soil microbiome data and develop a tailor-made microbial solution. The project first defined four sampling points for each level of vine vigor (high and low) plus a reference sample from another area (with optimal vigor). Samples were analyzed by High-Throughput Sequencing Technologies.
The metagenomic analysis identified low levels ofphosphorus solibilizing microorganismsas a contributing factor to reduced vigor.
Moreover, our team of experts analyzed further the data to provide insights and management recommendations for targeted interventions. To improve the soil ecology and vine vigor in the affected area, it has been suggested a treatment program to increase the bio-functional characteristics of soil microbial networks, mobilizing nutrients. It included two applications of START and BOOST, two bioenhancers designed to ensure microorganisms adaptation to soil conditions and maximize microbial effects in the field, followed by Fosmobac, a microbial formulation based on Azospirillum sp. strain 2655 and Pseudomonas lutea strain B2549, especially designed to solubilize and mobilize phosphorus, turning it accessible for plants and promoting their growth. Treatment was done in 2 applications: one with the 2 bioenhancers (tank mixture) and another one, 7 days later, with Fosmobac.
Results
Results showed that, by remodeling the microbiome and mobilizing nutrients, Genomaat was able to obtain an evident improvement in vine vigor. Moreover, through a second metagenomic analysis done to assess the effect of the treatment on soil, Genomaat revealed an increased number of species in the soil sample and a decreased percentage of pathogens, both markers of an overall increase in soil health. At the same time, it was observed that the phosphorus solubilizing micro-organisms applied during the treatment were not established permanently the soil, which is to be expected, considering that the soil microenvironment was not favorable to this type of micro-organism from the outset. Finally, regarding the impact on productivity, it has to be taken into account that, with the pruning techniques applied (double cordon), fruitful shoots grow from the buds at the spurs from the precedent season. Thus, the growth in a given season is highly dependent on that of the previous one. So that, the impact of the treatment on productivity would be at medium term.
Conclusion
In this case study, we used metagenomic data to expose the biological functionalities of soil microbiome and provide valuable insights into soil health, to complement more traditional analysis and agronomic observations. The targeted interventions, resulted in a significant improvement in vine vigor and soil health, possibly leading to a medium-term improvement in yield and wine quality. The success of the study demonstrates the value of using advanced technologies to obtain information on soil health, which in turn enables optimization of crop production and regeneration of the agricultural environment. ●
