Scientists develop fly killing fungus
Scientists are working towards commercial production of fungus which will be able to control flies in livestock units. The research work is being carried out jointly by CABI Bioscience, Imperial College and the University of Kent.
Heading up the work are Dr Nina Jenkins and Dr Mike Dadd who told the Ranger that technology for the control of insect pests using fungal insect pathogens as biopesticides has been available in the UK, Europe and the United States for numerous pests in field and glasshouse settings.
“Insect pathogenic fungi tend to be specific to the host species from which they originated,” said Dr Jenkins. “This makes them environmentally sound as they have little to no impact on non-target species. Products are therefore developed for a specific target pest and address niche markets.
“We have been developing a biopesticide for house flies and have obtained excellent results against fly populations using a fungal pathogen isolated from an infected fly. We use a patented formulation of the fungal spores which enables us to apply the biopesticide using standard chemical spray equipment at very economical rates. We have proven expertise in this area, having already developed a commercial biopesticide for the control of locusts and grasshoppers.”
Dr Dadd said that to bring the product to the stage where it could be marketed commercially would need support from the industry and other interested parties.
“We have discussed this with the Defra LINK sustainable livestock production programme,” he said, “and it is likely that, with support from potential end users in the livestock industry, we will be able to develop a biopesticide for cost-effective and sustainable fly control.”
Dr Jenkins and her team are proposing to hold a meeting where they will present the technology and outline in detail the development activities required to move the product to commercialism.
“To ensure that we are addressing the requirements of all interested parties we are keen to hear from livestock producers, pest control product distributors and trade organisations related to the livestock industry so that we can include them in the planning process. There will be no obligation to contribute financially,” said Dr Jenkins, who can be contacted on 0207 594 2872 or at n.jenkins@imperial.ac.uk
