The EU’s BIOCOMES project, which was coordinated by Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and which brought together an international consortium of 13 companies and 14 research institutes has successfully developed several new products with commercial potential.
Jürgen Köhl of WUR says that the results after four years of the BIOCOMES project are very good: “Eleven biological control agents are now in development, with two already on the way to registration. In addition, several new insects will be marketed as biological control agents. It is important to point out that these are all products which may have a major positive impact on the environment when replacing chemical crop protection. And without this public-private partnership these products would not have reached the market.”
Two new products are now ready to be submitted for registration. One is a virus product to combat the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta and the other a fungus product to control fusarium in cereals. “Commercial exploitation of these products is almost certain,” Köhl says enthusiastically.
Photo Caption: Tuta absoluta damage to tomato plants
Photo Credit: Wageningen University & Research