Novel biopesticides: from idea to product
BioPest
Use of synthetic, fossil-based pesticides in the agriculture sector is under pressure. Consumer
and environmental considerations have resulted in an increasing number of regulations limiting their applications. Moreover, increasing resistance to pesticides by various pests and diseases limits their commercial lifespan. As a result, there is a growing demand to develop sustainable agricultural practices and new products to guarantee world food security.
The Global and European biopesticides market has been growing steadily in recent years and
use of natural based biopesticides is expected to become an essential biocontrol tool for farmers all over Europe. Nonetheless, regulations and registration continue to pose a significant challenge for their commercialization.
Since 2003, in Luke we have had several projects concerning the production, development and efficacy of various biopesticides (e.g. NESKA, MobileFlip, FinvasiveLIFE) and the results have been promising. However, there are still several challenges that limit the commercialization of studied biopesticides. The overall aim of the project is to search out the market potential, legislation and commercialization of biopesticides. The aim is also to clarify our potential to develop new bioactive compounds to economically viable and commercially focused biobased pesticides and high value products.
The project consists of four interacting working packages
WP1: Project management
WP2: An overview of biopesticide regulation at the EU Level. Submission procedures are long and the high cost of registration limits the commercialization of new biopesticides. In this WP, we make an overview on the legislation concerning the development, registration and commercialization of biopesticides in Europe.
WP3: Current research, commercial needs. In this WP, the current situation concerning of biopesticide research and development inside Luke, in Finland and internationally will be investigated.
WP4: Demonstration of novel biopesticides. WP4 is carried out as a case study in the field: pyrolysis liquids that have proved good efficacy in our previous laboratory and greenhouse experiments are used to demonstrate the product development from idea to field scale investigations.
