Speeding development of biological controls (interview met Jürgen Köhl)

ENDURE researchers have developed a new approach for the fast and cost-effective development of biological control products. Called SelectBioControl, the approach encompasses all the successive steps crucial to the development, production, registration and marketing of such products. The development of SelectBioControl was led by Jürgen Köhl, from Plant Research International (PRI), part of Wageningen University and Research Centre, working in cooperation with ENDURE colleagues from France's National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Italy's National Research Council (CNR) and the biocontrol industry body, the International Biocontrol Manufacturers' Association (IBMA). ENDURE's researchers expect SelectBioControl to give a major boost to the biological control market. The development of biological control products based on micro-organisms is a long and costly process. A great deal of public and private money has already been invested in the development of these products, with only a limited degree of success. Researchers believe SelectBioControl will increase the chances of developing an effective product and a successful market introduction. “We start by testing bacteria and fungi for their effectiveness against pathogens as well as analysing the economically important production and marketing parameters. Only bacteria and fungi that have market potential are taken to the next stage and studied in more detail. SelectBioControl results in limited overall development costs, and allows us to better estimate the total costs and possible risks in advance,” said Jürgen Köhl