DEVELOPMENT OF GLIOCLADIUM-VIRENS FOR DAMPING-OFF DISEASE-CONTROL

Commercial preparations of formulations of the fungus Gliocladium vire ns (GL-21) have appeared on the market as ''GlioGardTM,'' an alginate formulation, and more recently as ''SoilGardTM,'' a granular formulati on. The development of these products evolved through a process which included discovery of the biocontrol fungus, product development, mark eting assessment, product formulation, process development, extensive efficacy assays, registration with the U.S. Environmental Protection A gency (EPA), scale-up, and test marketing. The process evolved through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between priv ate industry (W. R. Grace & Co., Columbia, MD) and a federally-funded research institution (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Biocontrol of Pl ant Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland). Success of this cooper ative effort depended largely on a close working relationship between the two groups and constant exchange of ideas and concepts. The import ance of close collaborations between project participants was key to t he transfer of technology for commercialization of the products.