Funding from Research Manitoba is enabling a Brandon research team to commercially ready an innovative molecular-based diagnostics tool for rapid, economical and accurate detection of the most important soybean root and stem disease in the province, this through the recent awarding of the Innovation Proof-of-Concept Grant to Brandon University Professor of Biology, Dr. Bryan Cassone.
"This technology will assist in disease surveillance programs and allow producers to make informed management decisions on a yearly basis," shares Cassone.
"Because we have funding for this is we're going to do all the testing for free," he adds. "So, if a producer has samples that they'd like to submit to me or alternatively let us go into their field to collect samples ... that will just further help validate our technology."
The research project is in collaboration with co-investigators Dr. Chris LeMoine from Brandon U, and Dr. Baljeet Singh from Assiniboine College.
Three key objectives to advance the commercialization of the diagnostic tool are to:
- Validate the utility of the diagnostic tool across multiple growing seasons
- Assess the tool's ability to detect diseases early in the growing season before symptoms develop
- Evaluate the tool's capability to detect pathogens in soybean seeds
The diagnostics tool will significantly reduce the application of costly and unnecessary pesticides and fungicides, while improving crop yield and quality
Once these objectives are achieved, the diagnostics tool will be ready for commercialization, significantly reducing the application of costly and unnecessary pesticides and fungicides, while improving crop yield and quality.
"This funding will enable us to catalyze the development of an accurate and economical diagnostic tool for common soybean diseases in the region. By taking our research out of the lab and into the field, we hope that this tool can be broadly used for disease surveillance and to inform pathogen mitigation strategies," says Dr. Chris LeMoine.
Assiniboine College Professor Dr. Baljeet Singh says he sincerely appreciates the invaluable collaboration and dedication of their team for this project.
"Research grants are highly competitive, and securing this funding is a testament to the significance of our work," shares Singh. "I am grateful to Research Manitoba for granting this opportunity and I look forward to making meaningful research contributions to this project."
Dr. Cassone says the Research Grant allows two years of funding and they fully expect the diagnostic tool to be ready within the 2-year time frame. "There is room for an extension for an additional year but we feel it will be ready in two, three years at the max, where we feel good that's it's ready and we feel good that it will be able to attain what we want it to do."
Please listen to more with Dr. Bryan Cassone below, and please contact Dr. Cassone if you'd like to participate in the soybean pathogen study as a soybean producer by emailing:
CassoneB@BrandonU.CA
Bryan Cassone PhD, Professor of Biology, Brandon University
(photo credit Brandon University staff and students participating in this research project)