Agtech development company Bio-Gene Technology Limited (ASX: BGT) reports that interim results from its stored grain trial of a lead Flavocide combination treatment have shown positive efficacy in controlling pests after an interim three month review.
In September 2020, Bio-Gene announced the successful identification of a lead Flavocide combination treatment to be taken to field testing as part of a nine month efficacy study in collaboration with BASF, DAF and GRDC.
CEO, Richard Jagger, said the nine month combination treatment study is stage 3 of the collaboration programme. This stage of the programme was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the combination product to control all of the key stored grain pests, being the Lesser Grain Borer, Flour Beetle, Saw-toothed Grain Beetle, Flat Grain Beetle and Rice Weevil.
We are very pleased that the trial results confirmed control of all five key pests at this interim check point,” Mr Jagger said.
“This gives all of the collaboration partners the confidence to continue the trial to its completion, scheduled for a total of nine months. The trial programme is designed to show that the combination product can control the key pests for a commercially acceptable time period.
“The target of nine months provides industry participants with more flexibility over viable storage periods for grain, to allow for the optimum time for use or shipment, which can ultimately deliver more value. These interim results provide additional confidence in the potential for this technology to deliver a commercial product to provide control against a full range of pests.”
Dr. Manoj Nayak, Leader of the Postharvest Grain Protection Unit within DAF, who undertook the Flavocide testing program with Bio-Gene, said the interim results show this combination product provides the anticipated residual control of adults and F1 progeny in bioassay assessments of the field stored wheat over the initial three months.
“These data provide a solid platform for the on-going stage 3 trial, and the collaborative project with BASF and GRDC,” he said.
Mr Jagger said that currently there is no single chemistry that controls all major pests that impact stored grain. The incidence of pest resistance is rising in Australia, and around the world. In some cases, losses of up to 70% of grain in storage have been attributed to pests.
He said Flavocide has the potential to create formulations that will enable control of the full range of pests including pests resistant to other classes of chemistry. The introduction of products with a novel Mode of Action, such as Flavocide, is critical for pest management in stored grain to reduce the potential of increased insecticide resistance in the future.