Fighting agricultural pests naturally
ALTHOUGH the natural world exists in symbiosis with each element living in mutually beneficial relationships, some can also be used to combat another in many instances.
Natural warfare can prove advantageous to the human world, especially when it is applied to the industrious activities of man.
Using nature to fight nature is environmentally friendly and could pave the way for man’s benefits and intentions in his work, especially with regards to agriculture and farming.
This is exactly what Prof Dr Suzana Yusup of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) has taken advantage of in her development of a biopesticide.
It started with a UTP CSR programme and to support the research grant provided towards assisting the surrounding community of farmers who were facing challenging problems such as lower yields and pests.
Currently using chemical-based pesticides, the research was done predominantly to determine if biopesticides would improve yields while deterring the pests and bugs.
In order to do this, a biopesticide had to be formulated.
Prof Suzana and her research team have concocted a special, confidential neem-based formula that includes natural extracts from plants together with the support from the Department of Agriculture.
Her team has successfully proven that biopesticide is an improvement over the currently available chemical-based pesticides.
Not only does it improve yields, it is also a safer option without negative chemical effects on users, the paddy plants and the environment as a whole.
This becomes the first biopesticide available for paddy and expected to have a significant impact on the paddy-growing industry.
“We are working alongside an international bio-based pesticide company with the support of the Department of Agriculture to improve the formula and make it into a ‘one-solve-all’ biopesticide,” said Prof Suzana.
The synthesised material can also be used alternatively with the company's existing products.
Meanwhile lab tests show that the formula is able to reduce pests and potentially double the yields of thepaddy.
This is notwithstanding other variables that affect each harvest – such as weather and other uncontrollable factors.
Developed specifically for paddy fields, Prof Suzana added that it has not been tested on other crops as yet, although in theory it should work as well.
This is an exciting product in the making as the potential benefits for paddy, and possibly other crops is manyfold – enhances growth, improves yields and keeps bugs and pests away.
“We are now ready to test it in a greenhouse environment and this will further add to the evidence of its efficacy and benefits,” Prof Suzana revealed.
She added that UTP has already applied for a patent on the biopesticide formula and is now in discussions with a company to takeittothenextlevel.
“The formula will eventually be licensed to a company as we need a lot of other endorsements and have to meet numerous agency requirements before taking it further into the production and commercialisation process.”
An esteemed lecturer in UTP’s chemical engineering department, Prof Suzana has been working on the biopesticide since 2015 as the lead researcher.
She also heads a research cluster under UTP Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research.
Her project was put forth as a participant in the Elsevier Foundation Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge last year where it emerged second out of 500 proposals.
With an award of £25,000 (RM136,000) that complemented UTP’s initial grant, the research delved deeper; the result is a formula that is now reaching towards the production stage.
As one of the challenge winners, Prof Suzana was called back to present the findings of her research at an international conference organised by the Elsevier Foundation last May.
She was also recognised as a Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM) by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia this year.
She was the second UTP lecturer to be inducted into the TRSM hall of fame.
A respected scientist in her field of biofuel and biomass utilisation and material development, Prof Suzana is passionate about discovering how biomass waste can be used to create energy, while also looking into other environmentally friendly applications in her field.
“Change must always be for the better and this is what research is all about,” she said.
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