UM Life Science Business Incubator trying to find viruses to kill crop pests

In Missouri, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports that back in November, a state of emergency was declared by Brazil in response to a caterpillar outbreak that was damaging soybean fields. Holly Popham is Australia based AgBiTech’s chief scientist with the University of Missouri Live Science Business Incubator. According to the article, Popham works on developing baculoviruses to kill specific pests such as the Helicoverpa caterpillar in Brazil.

Popham notes that AgBiTech prefers to use viruses found in nature, as opposed to developing GMO’s. Jake Halliday, the life science incubator head is also quoted, stating, “The real art behind the science here is being able to produce large quantities… The commercial interest has probably been constrained by the inability to produce huge quantities of this kind of product and distribute it on a national basis.”

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