Screening novel bio-pesticide isolates for aphid and thrip control

Overview

Aphids and thrips are major sap-feeding pests that cause significant financial losses across a wide range of crops. The chemical control toolbox is increasingly limited due to environmental concerns, non-target organism impacts, human health risks, and resistance development. This offering provides access to two premier microbial collections — the Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) National Reference Collection and the CABI micro-organism collection — to accelerate the discovery of novel bio-pesticide candidates targeting these pests. The global bio-insecticide market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8%, reaching an estimated USD 4.6 billion by 2025, representing a substantial commercial opportunity for organisations seeking effective, sustainable pest management solutions.

Technical specifications

Key capabilities:

• Access to CHAP's National Reference Collection and CABI's micro-organism collection for bio-pesticide discovery
• Establishment, identification, and maintenance of aphid and thrip cultures for controlled screening
• Efficacy screening of microbial isolates against aphids and thrips to identify promising bio-pesticide candidates
• Molecular analysis of candidate isolates to characterise activity and support product development
• Statistical analysis to validate screening results and identify lead candidates
• Proven methodology demonstrated through CHAP and CABI's recent Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle project (Innovate UK: 51401), which showed that these collections can accelerate novel bio-pesticide development

Technology readiness level

This offering is positioned at an early-to-mid stage of bio-pesticide discovery and validation. The screening methodology has been validated through prior collaborative work on cabbage stem flea beetle, demonstrating that the collections and processes can successfully identify novel candidates. The proposed work programme covers culture establishment, efficacy screening, molecular characterisation, statistical validation, and project management, providing a structured pathway from initial isolate screening to candidate identification. Further development and field validation would be required to progress identified candidates toward commercial registration and deployment.