Some of the developments have already been introduced into production at Russian chemical enterprises.
Within the framework of the project of the Russian Science Foundation, the laboratory of biological plant protection of the Novosibirsk State Agrarian University (NSAU) is currently working on the improvement of bacteria, fungi and viruses that are used in preparations for protecting plants from pests - insects and diseases. We are talking, first of all, about such crops as potatoes, rapeseed, corn. These developments, as the head of the laboratory, Doctor of Biological Sciences Ivan Dubovsky, said during a press tour to NSAU, are used by manufacturers of the corresponding drugs, such as Sibbiopharm, Koltsovo Biofactory, Biovatik.
“We mainly use biological plant protection products — bacteria, fungi and viruses,” says the scientist. - For example, the Colorado potato beetle can be destroyed with a bacterium. By infecting insects, we get more and more effective bacteria and then use them against the Colorado potato beetle. But bacteria themselves are biological agents, and therefore imperfect killers: in nature, it is not beneficial for a parasite to completely destroy the host. We add efficiency to bacteria with the help of RNA interference, with the help of various additives. We are creating the next generation of drugs that will effectively destroy the Colorado potato beetle.
In addition to pest control, the drugs developed by Siberian scientists also improve the properties of the plants themselves.
“We create drugs that help the plant, improve its health, help fight various diseases,” says the head of the laboratory. - As a result - an increase in yield up to 30%. Such bacteria not only protect against diseases, but also help to improve the absorption of nitrogen. Thus, they act as fertilizers. But in order to make a biological product more effective, you need to figure out how it works, look inside the body, study how the bacterium will affect the plant, due to which growth will be stimulated.
According to the scientist, at present, manufacturers of chemicals and plant protection products use about 10-15% of the developments of the university, and there are plans to bring this figure to at least 50%. There is no need to talk about foreign markets in view of the difference in legislation.
“We are working on ideas in the conditions of our economy and our laws,” explains Ivan Dubovsky. “We cannot use engineering for drugs that are used in the field. But there are also such developments. Perhaps we will also use it, since it is done all over the world. We have a project to use genetic engineering to create an effective bacterium for insect pests. But now we have to rely on other approaches.