About AgBiTech
AgBiTech Pty Ltd is a privately owned Australian company committed to providing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) alternatives for crop production both in Australia and overseas.
AgBiTech's mission is to develop and produce integrated pest management solutions for Australian agriculture. To date the company has registered ViVUS and ViVUS Gold natural biopesticides for the control of Helicoverpa. Both ViVUS and ViVUS Gold contain an insect virus which is specific to one insect, Helicoverpa spp. It does not affect any beneficial insects making it an ideal tool for use in integrated pest management programmes. Being highly specific ViVUS has no detrimental impact on humans or the environment contributing to sustainable farming.
Early in 2003 the company gained the licence to market an exciting new product, Magnet Insect Attractant Technology. It is a revolutionary integrated pest management tool being developed for controlling Helicoverpa spp. and other lepidopteran pests in a wide range of crops. Magnet differs from traditional methods of controlling heliothis, in that it targets the adult (moth) stage of the insect's lifecycle. By killing moths before they can lay their eggs, the reliance on foliar applied insecticides for larval control can be considerably reduced. Magnet was developed under the Australian Cotton CRC by researchers from the University of New England. AgBiTech's partnership with the Cotton CRC has led it to become an affiliate partner of the new Cotton Catchment Communities CRC.
AgBiTech has established research alliances with Queensland Department of Primary industries and the University of Western Sydney. The research from these alliances will focus on improvements to ViVUS and development of new biopesticides for the control of lightbrown apple moth (LBAM), diamondback moth (DBM) and mirids. LBAM and DBM are major pests of grapes and brassica crops respectively.
