POTENTIAL AND PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING BACTERIAL BIOCONTROL AGENTS

This review addresses examples of biological control of plant pathogen s by bacterial agents which have already reached the market or are lik ely to be exploited commercially within the next few years. A few plan t pathogens have been controlled successfully by commercial formulatio ns of biological agents, but many attempts to develop biocontrol formu lations have met with problems in practice. Problems in the developmen t of bacterial biological control agents for plant pathogens can be id entified as research or regulatory. Problems created by regulatory age ncies involve lengthy procedures to obtain permits for shipment and im portation of cultures, research permits to test biocontrol agents in t he field, and inadequate communication with scientists on how to initi ate the permit or registration process. The terms used by the regulato ry agencies are often confusing and many scientist's lack the skills f or negotiating with bureaucrats. Other problems discussed in this revi ew are absence of: a national focus on biological control; funding for both basic and applied biocontrol research; appreciation by administr ators for biocontrol research; cooperation among scientists, governmen tal regulatory agencies, and private industries; relevant research, su ch as population dynamics of biocontrol agents and microbial ecology. In addition, delays in obtaining regulatory approval and the high cost of obtaining patents are also discussed. Possible opportunities for b iological control in view of various constraints of production are dis cussed.