Small insect works to tackle big problem in Corn Belt

Keegan Shields, Persistent BioControl: Corn rootworm was the focus of a lot of that research. And in the summer, you go dig corn roots to kind of score, the roots. So you've got to go dig all these things up. His lab also took about half a million soil samples, over the life of the technology. So, helping out with that and then, you know, just trying to divide and conquer with the kids. And, you know, I would go with him during the summertime and drive around wonder for wonderful, New York. Just what a kid wants to do.

[Yeager] Persistent Bio Control is the name of the company, and it's you. You're it. What? Why the name and why do this on your own? Why not go work for somebody that's already kind of in this field, doing what you're doing?

[Shields] Yeah. so persistence. kind of our key innovation is, I guess I'll back up. So we sell, these microscopic worms called nematodes. They live in the soil, and they attack soil insect. And that was the solution for this invasive pest that's only in northern New York it's only in four counties. It's what my father worked on for 30 years. And these nematodes will seek out soil, insect pests, kill them and then reproduce. So it's this really cool, natural, self-replicating system that we've figured out how to harness for farmers. [Yeager] That when you say it's only four counties in New York, I believe last time I let me look at my notes here. Yeah. root worms everywhere. So what's different about, those four counties in New York versus the rest of the area?

[Shields] So, he kind of my father kind of stumbled on to the fact that this works in Rootworm. the original research is for a different insect. but once we figured out said, oh, we could help farmers across the Midwest with root worm problems. now it's I think it's something worth commercializing. So there's a lot of different soil insects that these microscopic worms will, will go after and control. We have a seven year continuous study and root worm basically looking at control through rotation and, and, after going after root worm. So corn's really our first market that we're going into. It's what we're most familiar with. But, it's really just the first market.

[Yeager] Corn in Texas and the way it's grown. And even I shouldn't just say corn, but some crops in some states, there is no rotation. It is the same thing year after year after year. when you mentioned rotation, does it mean something different down there than it does, where you're seeing it's, seated today?

[Shields] yeah, a lot of, a lot of the farmers we work with are corn on corn for going back 20 years. Right. They don't, they don't rotate. And that's really stressed out. we've put a lot of pressure on the rootworm traits that are the current solution. the farmers in New York are mostly dairy farmers. so it's, four year alfalfa, corn rotation. So it's a little easier. But. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we work with some guy that Nebraska and, northern, southern Minnesota that I think a big corn on corn for like 50 years on irrigation or, you know, rain fed. So and a lot of the guys we work with are, they're corn on corn because they're feeding some type of livestock.

[Yeager] So rootworm traits you mentioned that is sometimes in, in the trade of the seed to, to get rid of the rootworm.

[Shields] Yeah. It's the current solution. the seed companies have figured out how to insert a gene from a bacteria into the corn plant so that the plant produces, bt toxin, which is not is harmful to rootworm. what we're seeing are widespread resistance to these toxins. So we've we've, listeners may be familiar with herbicide tolerant weeds, insecticide tolerant, insects. And now we've got, these trait tolerant rootworm, there's been a big shift over the last five years. Five years ago, we had trouble, getting people to admit there was a problem, but but, you know, people were kind of hush hush about it. but now I think it's got more widespread problems. Worse. so it's really about using every tool in the toolbox, to try and control rootworm. And that's what the nematodes really provide, is they'll come in as an independent, mode of action and, and kill off all those resistance survivors, that would normally make it to adulthood and cause more, rootworm pressure and damage. And it's something that, you only have to apply once.

[Yeager] Once over. How long?

[Shields] so our data goes back 30 years. so, you know, the lawyers won't let me say forever, but, you know, a long time more the more than one year, which, again, that starts to make us sound a little snake oily. Right. but we've got we've got the data, and, I think this year we crossed 100,000 acres, have been treated, with these persistent nematodes, about 65,000, are in New York and the rest across the Midwest. 

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