|Lazarovits, George - AGRI-FOOD CANADA|
Submitted to: International Congress of Plant Pathologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 3, 2002
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract: Successful commercialization of biocontrol products requires the marriage of science and industry. From a science perspective, some of the issues to be addressed include knowledge of efficacy under various environmental conditions, inoculum density relationships, formulation, and when, where and how to deliver the inoculum. Industry evaluation includes market size, cost effectiveness, ability to produce, formulate and distribute a living product, and scaling up. While industry and the scientist will have many questions in common, their approaches will be different. They must strike a balance between the scientifically best choice and the most cost effective choice. For example, the scientist will determine the substrate yielding the most efficacious propagules, while industry wants to know how to produce the greatest number in the least amount of time. Barriers to commercialization of biocontrol agents include inconsistent performance of biocontrol, specificity of many biocontrol agents, small market size, difficulties inherent in mass production, distribution and delivery of a living product, and cost of registration. Factors stimulating development of biocontrol include the withdrawal of chemical pesticides from the market, public perception that biocontrol agents are safer than chemical pesticides, and the increasing demand for organic produce. There are currently about 50 products commercially available worldwide for control of plant diseases. Web addresses with information about these commercial biocontrol products will be given.