AgBiTech opens laboratory in partnership with UFG

The Australian-American AgBiTech opens a laboratory in the capital Goiânia dedicated to studies and research in the area of ​​biological pest management. Resulting from a strategic partnership between the company and UFG - Federal University of Goiás, the new space is scheduled to open in the first half of November and will be a center of reference and innovation in the area, according to the company and the university.

Company founded in Australia in 2000 – at the height of serial caterpillar attacks Helicoverpa armigera to crops in that country -, AgBiTech transferred its headquarters to the United States in 2015, when it received investments from the Private Equity fund Paine Schwartz Partners (PSP) and built the largest baculovirus production unit in the world in Dallas, Texas. The PSP currently has 42 enterprises, most of which are linked to global agribusiness.

According to experts, baculoviruses, also called biological agricultural pesticides, act effectively in managing resistance to caterpillars that cause more damage to large crops in Brazil, including soybeans and cotton - Helicoverpa armigera, Chrysodeixis includens (false measurement) and mainly the Spodoptera, which with each harvest proves more resistant to chemical control.

According to Professor Luizmar Adriano, technological director of Parque Samambaia, where the new research laboratory will operate, the strategic alliance signed with AgBiTech consists of a virtuous model of action in the search for technological innovations. “The company’s proximity to researchers and students will enable the sharing of knowledge and the construction of projects relevant to agribusiness.”

“This is another important investment that AgBiTech makes in Brazil. The laboratory will be located in the Technological Park at the Federal University and the expectation is that researchers from the company and the renowned institution will develop several projects together, for the benefit of agriculture in the Center-West and Brazil”, adds Adriano Vilas Boas, general director of AgBiTech in Latin America.

Janayne Rezende, researcher at AgBiTech and responsible for implementing the laboratory, understands that the joint action between the company and the university will contribute to disseminating more knowledge in the country about the importance of biological products in pest management. “Baculoviruses are high-quality products that add productivity and sustainability to agriculture”, concludes the entomologist.