Harnessing Natural Fungi to Control Insect and Mite Pests in Grain Storage

利用天然真菌保护谷物免受虫害：客户希望食品无残留，谷物生产商希望消除使用化学品控制害虫和疾病感染的风险。众所周知，防止粮食害虫是非常困难的。Exosect正在开发一种高效的谷物处理剂，使用一种昆虫特异性真菌白僵菌（Bb）的本土分离物，用带静电的蜡颗粒配制。这些颗粒有助于将真菌孢子粘附在昆虫上，从而使真菌有时间杀死昆虫。预计该处理对一系列关键谷物害虫的控制率达到90%以上。为了解决消费者和食品生产商对使用“友好真菌”的担忧，Exosect将咨询行业专家和贸易协会，以证明该产品超过严格的安全标准，达到高商业标准，具有成本效益，不会对食品造成任何污染。

Harnesssing Natural Fungi to Protect Grain from Insect Pests: Customers want food products to be residue-free and grain producers want to eliminate the risk of using chemicals in controlling pest and diesese infestations. Grain storage protection against insect pests is notoriously difficult. Exosect is developing a highly effective grain treatment using an indigenous isolate of an insect-specific fungus, Beauveria bassiana, (Bb) formulated with electrostatically charged wax particles. These particles help stick the fungal spores to the insect which gives the fungus time to kill the insect. The treatment is expected to achieve 90%+ control on a range of key grain insect pests. To address consumer and food producer concerns about the use of ‘friendly fungi’, Exosect will consult with industry experts and trade associations in order to prove that the product exceeds strict safety standards, performs to high commercial standards and is cost effective without causing any taint to food.