NZ's Encoate to launch novel pest control method

New Zealand biocontrol company Encoate will launch the latest wrinkle in pest control next month: shrink-wrapped bacteria to control pasture and lawn grubs.

Formed last September as a 50:50 joint venture between Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Celentis, the commercial arm of Crown Research Institute, Encoate is developing a range of novel biological control agents for pests and weeds around an AgResearch biopolymer that protects delicate bacteria and fungal spores against desiccation.

Encoate CEO Elizabeth Hopkins said the dormant microbes remain dormant for up to 12 months at room temperature inside their biopolymer capsules, and activate when the coating absorbs water from the soil or atmosphere.

The first product is a strain of the bacterium Serratia that infects and kills grass grubs, the root-chewing larvae of cockchafer beetles. The plump white larvae are serious pests of pastures, lawns and grass sports grounds.

Hopkins said the biopolymer, which is said to be very cheap to manufacture, has allowed Encoate to develop a range of microbial biological control agents that were previously too short-lived to be sold commercially.

"It's completely water soluble, and it can be applied in a number of different ways -- it can be broadcast as dry granules, applied with a seed drill, or through irrigation, as a water-soluble gel," she said.

Hopkins said the company was also experimenting with a controlled-release formulation that would activate when horticultural crops had reached the leafy stage, to protect against stem rot.

Encoate plans to sell its grass-grub biocontrol agent through agricultural products suppliers and nurseries. It will be sold as a dry powder, that can be mixed with fertilisers and broadcast onto pastures or lawns.

Hopkins said grass grubs were also a major problem in New Zealand in areas where pasture had been cleared for vineyards -- the grubs attack the young vines' roots and impair their growth. The water-soluble gel can be delivered through a vineyard irrigation system, or overhead sprays.

Encoate's development pipeline includes encapsulated spores of a fungus, Beauveria bassiana, to control clover root weevil, and another fungus, Sclerotinia, to control giant buttercup, a serious weed of New Zealand pastures.

The Sclerotinia product is also effective against most types of thistles, including nodding and scotch thistle -- both serious crop and pasture weeds in Australia, as well as in New Zealand.

"Because the biopolymer is a food-grade product, it can also be used to coat fresh fruits to control the growth of bacteria and fungi that cause fruit spoilage," Hopkins said.

She said Encoate's strategy is to seek global partners to develop novel products and take them into the international market. The company is already involved in talks with an Australian seed company to develop coatings to prolong seed viability.