New Non-Toxic, Organic, Biopesticide to Protect Food Crops from Bacterial Pathogens

PROJECT TITLE: New Non-Toxic Organic Biopesticide to Protect Food Crops from BacterialPathogensOrganization: TDA Research Inc.Project Director: Dr. Brian FranceProject Summary/Abstract:Bacterial plant pathogens present a formidable challenge to growers because there are fewpesticide products available to deal with them. Current bacterial disease management methodsroutinely use copper-containing bactericides which are one of the oldest pesticides available.Plants have different sensitivities to copper phytotoxicity and bacterial pathogens are becomingresistant to copper. Growers have requested and required new bactericidal tools to mitigateeconomically significant damaging bacterial pests.The objective of this proposed project is to develop a novel effective and safe bactericidal productfor agricultural crop protection. TDA Research (TDA) has recently identified a chemistry that canprovide equivalent bactericidal efficacy to copper-based pesticides while having no detrimentalimpact on the plant for the same cost. The formulation is an elegant solution in which all of thecomponents are organic (OMRI listed) and on the FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)list. The product will be registered as a much needed new active biopesticide. This is significantbecause no other pesticide consists entirely of GRAS compounds. This ensures that this productwill be broadly accepted by conventional and organic growers and consumers.This proposed formulation has demonstrated significant promise to address numerous agriculturalbacterial crop pathogens. However additional work is required before this product can be used bygrowers. Previous evaluations have demonstrated efficacy against Xanthomonas Pseudomonasand powdery mildew tests on ornamental plants. Extensive crop safety evaluations have also beenperformed in multiple evaluations.In this effort TDA will develop our bactericidal formulation for agricultural field use. Tank mixedadjuvants to enhance the performance of the spray solution can improve application characteristicsfor growers. Effects such as spreading droplets size sticking and persistence can be customized.Development of adjuvant formulations with proper performance efficacy and compatibility willbe conducted. Multiple field trials will be supported and performed on economically importantcrops against damaging bacterial pests.Anticipated results of this effort include the development of an effective bactericidal formulationthat growers can use customized spray applications to address their bacterial challenges. Previousdata shows the basic formulation has great promise to address these bacterial diseases. Datagenerated during this effort will validate performance establish grower application methods andprovide support for commercialization of this needed product.Copper is the primary treatment of all bacterial diseases and many bacterial pests are developingresistance and environmental accumulation is becoming a problem. Our product will provide amuch-needed optional treatment tool. The global copper fungicides market is estimated to bevalued at USD $1089 million by 2024 with a healthy compound annual growth rate of 4.8%.Thus there is a significant market opportunity for a new safe effective bactericide for cropprotection.