CHAP Innovation Sector Lead Richard Glass chaired the first CSFB Stakeholder Workshop on 24th November, as part of the Innovate UK funded project ‘Developing a Biopesticide for CSFB Control’.
The event was well attended by a range of stakeholders across the industry, from farmers to oilseed processors.
The workshop started with presentations from Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), CAB International (CABI), Russell Bio Solutions Ltd and H&T Bioseed. Discussions related to the project and the problem of CSFB control took place in three breakout sessions. There were several references to the fact that the area of oilseed being grown in the UK continues to fall, with many crop failures reported for the 2019 sown crop.
This had resulted in some farmers saying they had stopped growing the crop, as resistance to the pyrethroids means that there is no longer any approved pesticide that can control CSFB in many parts of the country. In the final plenary session, there was an enthusiastic discussion around the comments and ideas collated, followed by questions relating to how good the control would be and how long it would take to get a product to market if the project were successful.
CHAP will continue with end-user engagement through farmer groups, with United Oilseeds for example, to maintain the knowledge exchange process during the life of the project and gather further industry feedback.
To read about the previous work done by CHAP partner CABI on this project, go to Biopesticide
For more information on the capabilities in the Fungal Biopesticide Development capability go to Lab.
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