Novel microencapsulation of fungal spores for major crop pest control and more effective Integrated Pest Management procedures

病虫害造成的农作物损失仍然是一个主要的农业问题。西花象甲(WFT)和黑藤象甲(BVW)在世界范围内对高价值的园艺作物造成经济损失。WFT造成的病毒传播和直接喂养损害在欧洲造成的总损失估计为5.5亿GB pa，全球损失超过60亿GB。仅BVW一家每年就给英国造成了4000万英磅的损失。目前的控制方法往往是不够的。WFT和BVW没有单独有效的控制措施，种植者/生产者必须使用综合技术--IPM--以进行适当的控制。这些不能可靠地提供所需的控制级别，损失可能会很大。除了实施问题-教育、时间、成本、复杂性外，还存在另外两个主要挑战：1)WFT擅长对化学杀虫剂产生抗药性，而监管的加强使BVW的控制变得困难，因为毒死蜱(有机磷)在2016年从市场上移除。消费者主导的零售商对种植者在作物生产中减少或消除化学农药(和残留物)的使用的需求不断增加。2)目前的生物杀虫剂具有显著的局限性，包括：需要低温储存(供应链中的成本/复杂性)；在使用过程中对害虫的粘附性低(低效率)；发芽和建立的相对湿度范围有限(95%RH；降低药效)；附着后发芽率低(低药效)；对使用条件更敏感(药效降低)。迫切需要新的虫害防治解决方案，包括在IPM系统中使用更有效的工具来提高有效性。Bionemas的创新技术将生产易于分发(常温)、高效、所需治疗次数减少(降低成本)的生物杀虫剂；针对现有的应用方法进行优化；在真菌疾病控制方面得到更广泛的应用。这将通过开发真菌孢子微胶囊化的新工艺来实现，该工艺将：保持储存在常温下的真菌孢子的生物稳定性；创造保持水分的微环境以便于萌发；增强真菌孢子与植物表面的粘附性。这笔IUK赠款将促进为Bionema筹集投资资金，并在产品推出5年后带来可观的销售。其他影响包括使Bionema能够解决全球市场机会；使英国每年因WFT和BVW造成的园艺作物损失减少1亿GB；可能简化种植者的IPM计划；减少化学杀虫剂的使用；到2020年创造大约15个新的就业机会；满足消费者对减少化学杀虫剂使用的日益增长的需求。“

"Crop losses from pest attack continue to be a major agricultural problem. Western Flower Thrip (WFT) and Black vine weevil (BVW) cause economic losses in high value horticultural crops internationally. European combined losses from virus transmission and direct feeding damage by WFT is estimated at £550m pa, with worldwide costs over £6.0bn. BVW alone causes annual losses of £40m to UK; \>£4.0bn+ worldwide.Current approaches to control are often inadequate. No individually effective control measures exist for WFT and BVW and growers/producers must use combinations of techniques - IPM - for adequate control. These don't reliably provide control levels required and losses can be considerable. In addition to implementation issues - education, time, cost, complexity, two other major challenges exist:1)WFT is adept at developing resistance to chemical insecticides, while increased regulation makes BVW control difficult due to removal of Chlorpyrifos (organophosphates) from the market in 2016\. There is increasing consumer led retailer demand for growers to reduce or eliminate the use of chemical pesticides (and residues) in crop production.2)Current biopesticides have significant limitations including: need for low temperature storage (cost/complexity in supply chain); low adhesion to the pests during application (low efficiency); limited relative humidity range for germination and establishment (\>95% RH; reducing efficacy); low germination rates after adhesion (low efficacy); greater sensitivity to application conditions (reduced efficacy).New solutions to pest control are urgently needed including more effective tools within IPM systems to improve effectiveness. Bionemas' innovative technology will produce biopesticides that have easy distribution (ambient temperature); high efficacy; reduced number of required treatments (reducing costs); optimised for available application methods; wider applications for fungal disease control.This will be achieved by developing novel processes for microencapsulation of fungal spores, which will: maintain biological stability of fungal spores stored at ambient temperature; create a micro-environment to retain water to enable germination; enhance their adhesion to plant surfaces. They will have a dramatic impact on improving agricultural productivity.This IUK grant will facilitate the raising of investment funding into Bionema and result in significant sales 5 years after product launch. Additional impacts include enabling Bionema to address \> £500m+ global market opportunity; £100m reduction in annual UK horticultural crop losses due to WFT & BVW; potential simplification of growers IPM programmes; reduction is usage of chemical pesticides; creation of approximately 15 new jobs by 2020; meeting increasing consumer demand for reduced chemical pesticide use."