Japan uses lactic acid bacteria to produce pesticides

A Japanese research team has used the antibacterial action of a lactic acid bacteria to develop a "lactic acid bacteria pesticide" that prevents two crop diseases.

According to a report by Japanese media on the 20th, this kind of “lactic acid bacteria pesticide” developed by the Kyoto Prefecture Agricultural Resources Research Center uses Pediococcus acidi as a raw material to make it into a liquid drug, and soaks spinach seeds in this liquid for 24 hours. The seeds thus treated were sown in the soil containing the pathogen of spinach wilt, and as a result, infected spinach only accounted for about 12% of the spinach that grew out. After the pepper seedlings were treated with Pediococcus acidiformis, the chance of rot caused by the bacteria in the roots of the pepper was about 20% of that without treatment.

The report said that researchers are now testing the preventive effect of this new type of pesticide on other crops and whether it is completely harmless to the human body. If all goes well, this pesticide is expected to enter the practical stage around 2012.

The person in charge of this R&D project said that “Lactobacillus Pesticides” do not use chemical substances. Today, consumers’ awareness of food safety is gradually increasing and this new type of pesticides will receive much attention. However, the production of this pesticide is time-consuming and it is estimated that the selling price will not be low in the future.