July 20, 2026
VANCOUVER – British Columbia is home to a prolific fruit and vegetable production sector, satisfying local consumers and exporting $1.2 billion in products to markets around the world. However, the last few years have seen climate-driven shifts in plant production, as well as the proliferation of pathogens and pest species.
Three new Genome British Columbia (Genome BC) funded research projects are developing tools to help farmers protect British Columbia’s valuable crops. These projects share a common goal: to improve precise detection and early intervention, allowing the agricultural industry to better manage threats.
Two projects counter pests: the first improves tests for identifying parasitic nematodes that attack plant root systems. The second is developing an environmentally safe biopesticide that uses yeast to reign in wireworms that affect many of BC’s major agricultural crops.
The third project involves producing diagnostic tools to more quickly identify pathogens that cause substantial economic losses in multiple types of fruit crops.
Keeping parasite detection services up to date
Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are translucent, microscopic worms that feed on plant roots and tissues, causing stunted growth, decreases in yield and higher susceptibility to disease and other parasites. They can affect nearly every economically important crop and have resulted in over USD $173 billion in annual losses to the global agriculture sector.
In British Columbia, a number of potentially damaging PPN species can be found in vegetable and berry fields, vineyards and orchards, posing risks to both the agriculture and horticulture sectors. The province currently lacks diagnostic services for PPNs as current methods are costly, labour intensive and require deep expertise for species-specific identification.
To overcome this challenge, Dr. Paul Adams (Kwantlen Polytechnic University), Dr. Paul de la Bastide (BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food (BC MAF)) and Dr. Thomas Forge (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)) are leading a project to create diagnostic qPCR tests to detect and quantify eight economically significant PPN species in BC. Soil samples are being collected from across the province, screened for PPN species and then used to validate the accuracy and sensitivity of the different qPCR tests.
These novel tests will ultimately allow the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food’s Plant Health Laboratory to provide a nematode diagnostic service that is crucial to crop producers, supporting early detection and informed pest management decisions.
Novel, environmentally friendly pest management
Wireworms are a known pest to potato, corn and cereal growers in British Columbia. These insects are click beetle larvae that cause extensive crop damage — an annual average of over $11 million in Western Canada — by feeding on roots, seeds, stems and tubers.
Dr. John Husnik and his team at Renaissance Bioscience are developing a targeted, natural solution to protect crops from these pests using yeast and RNA interference (RNAi). This is a biopesticide contained in a biodegradable yeast cell used as bait. The treatment method degrades naturally, making it an environmentally safer option than chemical pesticides.
“RNAi is very, very target specific,” Dr. Husnik explains. This detail allows the team to select regions of gene sequences that match specific species in British Columbia, then validate their data against live wireworms to be trialed with the bait.
Having validated trials on Colorado potato beetles, the team is confident that a solution is within reach for BC growers. “A field-ready, omics-based biopesticide will empower farmers with a sustainable solution, while also positioning BC as a global leader in agricultural innovation,” Dr. Husnik says.
Stronger pathogen detection tools for fruit crops
A project led by Dr. Shauna-Lee Chai (AAFC) and Dr. Pragyan Burlakoti (BC MAF) aims to strengthen disease control for fruit crops by developing tests that can more effectively identify a pair of major pathogens.
The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food’s Plant Health Lab has identified Pseudomonas syringae complex and Phytophthora spp. as two pathogens that are particularly challenging to the management of the province’s berry and tree fruit plants. Phytophthora spp. (the name literally means ‘plant destroyer’) has accounted for approximately 30% yield loss in BC raspberries alone over the past 35 years. Currently, not enough is known about the various strains of these pathogens and how they affect different types of fruit.
Principal Investigator Dr. Rishi Burlakoti (AAFC) will generate whole genome sequencing data for both pathogens and develop rapid, sensitive PCR and qPCR diagnostic tools. These tools will allow the pathogens on infected plant tissues to be identified at the species level. More accurate tests will improve the diagnostic services provided by the Plant Health Lab and inform targeted, effective disease management plans for the agricultural sector.
“We’ve been using tests that are 20 years old to detect these diseases. We’ve seen the struggle of farmers,” says Dr. Chai, who welcomes the technological progress. “This is a great application of genomics-based tools to update our processes for the future.”
“As the demand for domestic food production increases, genomic tools can provide efficient, sustainable ways to manage and protect valuable output from growers in the province,” says Sally Greenwood, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Public Affairs at Genome BC. “Biotechnology and agrifoods are two important sectors in British Columbia. Linking them boosts the potential for both sectors to thrive and provide benefits for the people and province of BC.”
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Media contact: Genie Tay, Communications Manager, Genome BC
Referenced projects: GEN051, GIF015, GEN060
