Bee Vectoring Technologies plan to work with Professor Keith Yoder, Tree Fruit Pathologist at Virginia Tech’s Agricultural Research and Extension Center to control fire blight, which causes crop losses in apples and pears. The crop losses and cost to control the pathogen can reach into the $100 million range.
Bee Vector Technologies was tapped for this trial at Virginia Tech because its patented bee technology will allow delivery of the protection spray more effectively. Streptomycin, the antibiotic that will protect against Fire Blight, is currently mixed with a lot of water and sprayed multiple times onto the trees during blooming. However, the problem is that much of the antibiotic is wasted with wind, rain, and the method alone can miss hidden flowers. In agriculture, every penny counts and this level of waste is unacceptable. So, the BVT bees will deliver Streptomycin in level doses, and since bees many times deliver the Fire Blight pathogen, the BVT bees will block the bacteria-laden bees. The BVT delivery method will also be better for the environment because it will reduce the amount of wasted pesticide hitting the soil.
Michael Collinson, BVT CEO said, "The treatment and protection of apples and pears represent another significant commercial opportunity for BVT. The consistent daily delivery of preventative, beneficial inoculants by bees during the critical infection period, i.e. the bloom period makes the BVT system a compelling solution for growers. As has been the case in previous clinical trials using the BVT system on pomes, we are confident our solution will lead to significant decreases in the occurrence of Fire Blight in treated crops in a sustainable prevention program."
The results from the trial will be available in August this year.
Source: equities.com