In an exciting move by Government Agri-Tech Innovation Centre, CABI, and Fera, researchers who investigate crop production have a new tool to support their work. The National Reference Collection has just been released, offering a place for storage of and access to valuable live isolates of both fungi and bacteria.

The Collection uses state-of-the-art cryopreservation and freeze-drying technologies.Researchers can deposit specimens as well as acquire samples for use in their testing. These researchers have an expansive array of R&D being done, but those looking into biopesticides and pathogen-resistant crop cultivars are at the forefront.

The Collection even has systems in place to maintain confidentiality, so those working on strains involved in patent applications can rest easy when using their services. The Collection provides an opportunity to aggregate knowledge on cop health and widen the options for biopesticides. With this tool in hand, research into the industry has fewer barriers to jump over.