Registration of Phlebiopsis gigantea as a forest biocontrol agent in the UK: Recent experience

The registration of one of the world's first biological control agents for a plant pathogen, in January 1998, after 30 years of field use, is discusse d in relation to its approval under the UK Control of Pesticides Regulation s 1986. The control agent, Phlebiopsis gigantea (formerly, known as Penioph ora gigantea), is a common wood-rotting basidiomycete which is applied to t he freshly cut surfaces of pine stumps to prevent their colonization by the pathogenic root-rotting fungus Heterobasidion annosum. Unlike many other b iocontrol agents, P. gigantea is not a biocide that kills the target organi sm. Rather, it competes for resources that the pathogen would otherwise use , providing an extension to a naturally occurring process. Experience in se curing approval is reviewed, with special reference to the identity, of the organism and its natural distribution and to assessments of the risk its u se might pose in the environment. It is suggested that before the formal pr ocess of applying for approval of a biocontrol agent begins, there should b e procedures for agreeing precise data requirements. These should be bused on the type of crop to be treated and the mode of operation and characteris tics of the biocontrol organism. This would streamline the registration pro cess.