Development of novel semiochemicals for crop protection

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Due to pressure on available farmland there is an urgent need for sustainably enhancing food crop production. One approach to combat insect pests it to repel or attract them, using (semio)chemical signal baited traps, keeping them away from high value crops.We have produced modified aphid repellent and attractant semiochemicals through a strategic chemical process using enzymes. A novel and highly attractive aphid semiochemical (DMGD) has shown high field attraction to a range of pest aphids and has been demonstrated in field simulating studies as offering pest aphid control by the push-pull approach with the push against plant colonisation provided by the natural repellent, GD, in the isoprenoid group of natural products and the pull by the related DMGD. Opportunities for commercial scale up have been identified and can now underpin field trials for aphid control and commercial testing specifically against the lettuce aphid in the high value field production of lettuce.