Biopesticides finding diamonds in the dirt

摘要

Dow AgroSciences formulated its Success insecticide from a beneficial fungus discovered outside a warehouse in the Caribbean. Davis-based biotech firm AgraQuest discovered in the dirt in an orchard outside Fresno a beneficial microbe that is the keyingredient in its broad-spectrum biological fungicide Serenade. The discovery that the ground surrounding the bottlebrush tree is weed free led to the creation of Syngenta's biological herbicide Callisto.