Hunting viruses to protect sugarcane crops

21 Sep 2023
Hands holding soil and canegrubs
Canegrubs are a significant root-eating pest of sugarcane. Image: Sugar Research Australia

Insect-specific viruses are being investigated to protect Australia’s $4 billion sugar industry in a research project at The University of Queensland.

Dr Kayvan Etebari from UQ’s School of the Environment is using genomics to identify viruses which could be developed into environmentally safe biopesticides to attack notorious pests like canegrubs and soldier flies.

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