Team:RDFZ-CHINA/Human Practices
Overview
In order to find proper implementations of our product Killer-X, we investigated different aspects in which our project needs to improve. We first interviewed the stakeholders of agricultural products to get background information beyond the academic papers. Our survey trip to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science also gives us insights of the possibility of turning our experimental results into actual products. From a public questionnaire survey, we identified the target audience and the ideal implementation of our product: green farming and the production of organic food. Utilizing the information we gathered from the investigations, we produced a market plan for the launching of Killer-X.
In order to find proper implementations of our product Killer-X, we investigated different aspects in which our project needs to improve. We first interviewed the stakeholders of agricultural products to get background information beyond the academic papers. Our survey trip to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science also gives us insights of the possibility of turning our experimental results into actual products. From a public questionnaire survey, we identified the target audience and the ideal implementation of our product: green farming and the production of organic food. Utilizing the information we gathered from the investigations, we produced a market plan for the launching of Killer-X.
Stakeholders
Pesticide Company: Interviewing Noposion
In order to fully understand how prevailing several rice diseases are, we investigated Pihang Cao, the area manager of Noposion, a company producing agricultural chemicals and bactericides, for further information. From Cao, we learned that the major rice-producing areas in Northern region of China are Baodi and Ninghe in Tianjin, and Tanghai in Hebei. In these areas, rice is suffering from disease caused by microbes. "A large proportion of rice disease are induced by microbes." Cao told us. The most prevalent among all rice diseases is rice blast, which is also considered the most serious rice disease globally [1]. "There are agricultural chemicals dealing with rice blast now existing in the market," introduced Cao, "and the chemicals are effective. However, due to seasonal climate changes and problems regarding the management of crops, rice blast is still detrimental."
Pesticide Company: Interviewing Noposion
In order to fully understand how prevailing several rice diseases are, we investigated Pihang Cao, the area manager of Noposion, a company producing agricultural chemicals and bactericides, for further information. From Cao, we learned that the major rice-producing areas in Northern region of China are Baodi and Ninghe in Tianjin, and Tanghai in Hebei. In these areas, rice is suffering from disease caused by microbes. "A large proportion of rice disease are induced by microbes." Cao told us. The most prevalent among all rice diseases is rice blast, which is also considered the most serious rice disease globally [1]. "There are agricultural chemicals dealing with rice blast now existing in the market," introduced Cao, "and the chemicals are effective. However, due to seasonal climate changes and problems regarding the management of crops, rice blast is still detrimental."
Consumers: Ethics Survey on Pesticides
A questionnaire aiming at the uses and impacts of pesticide was posted online and was answered by over a hundred people. According to the answers, people generally hold a negative attitude towards agricultural chemicals. Over 80% of respondents do mind the use of pesticides on crops and over 60% of respondents think the problem of using pesticides in their lives is serious. When it comes to the third question, about whether consuming agricultural products used pesticide has caused harm to their body, about 50% of people are unclear about it. Although the number of people who answer exceeds those who answer no, it still makes us realize people actually have a vague judgment of the pesticide. Next, when they are asked to list some exact influences of pesticides on humans, over 60% of people have no idea about the harm of pesticides, and those who answer this question make their answer too broad. We, therefore, notice people lack professional knowledge about how the consumption of crops used pesticide would damage their body. However, the great news is, although 37% of respondents are not sure about the application of new technology to the crops, over 50% of them were optimistic about using a novel method to treat crops, which is definitely an inspiring thing for us.
A questionnaire aiming at the uses and impacts of pesticide was posted online and was answered by over a hundred people. According to the answers, people generally hold a negative attitude towards agricultural chemicals. Over 80% of respondents do mind the use of pesticides on crops and over 60% of respondents think the problem of using pesticides in their lives is serious. When it comes to the third question, about whether consuming agricultural products used pesticide has caused harm to their body, about 50% of people are unclear about it. Although the number of people who answer exceeds those who answer no, it still makes us realize people actually have a vague judgment of the pesticide. Next, when they are asked to list some exact influences of pesticides on humans, over 60% of people have no idea about the harm of pesticides, and those who answer this question make their answer too broad. We, therefore, notice people lack professional knowledge about how the consumption of crops used pesticide would damage their body. However, the great news is, although 37% of respondents are not sure about the application of new technology to the crops, over 50% of them were optimistic about using a novel method to treat crops, which is definitely an inspiring thing for us.
Experts Interviews
Team members of RDFZ-China attended an on-campus orientation at the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which is a public welfare scientific research institution specializing in the research and control of harmful organisms on crops. At present, the main research field of the institution includes seven core disciplines, plant diseases, chemical control and biological control of plant diseases, biosafety, plant protection biotechnology, etc. During the orientation, we interviewed four experts in different specialized areas - pesticides, plant pathology, and crop genome editing. We visited the specialized laboratory and learned about the advanced equipment used in molecular biology research, plant genome editing, and rice tissue culture. With the guidance of experts, we also went into experimental rice plantations and learned about the most recent advances in the field of rice breeding.
Through the interview and discussion, our team has gained a lot of valuable information, which is of great help to our project progress and evaluation.
Through the interview and discussion, our team has gained a lot of valuable information, which is of great help to our project progress and evaluation.
Disease: the outburst of rice blight in China
During the interview, the experts introduced how prevailing rice blight disease is in Southern China. Being the staple crop in Southern China, rice is susceptible to bacteria and insect infection due to year-round cultivation. Besides, the monsoon climate in Southern China allows water-borne bacteria, including Xanthomonas, to reproduce and spread rapidly. In a word, rice blight will threaten China's food security and economic development.
Disadvantages and Overuse of Chemical pesticides
One of the competitors of our phage therapy is chemical pesticides. However, experts pointed out two major problems caused by intense usage of chemical pesticides are environmental pollution and food security. The pesticides currently using is inefficient, and research shows that only 1% of the pesticides actually reach and function in the plant's body. Therefore, in order to completely control the diseases, farmers will overuse pesticides. The overuse of pesticides will kill beneficial bacteria in the soil, lower soil fertility, and for rice plantation specifically, the pesticides will contaminate the water resources. Experts also mentioned how pesticide residue becomes an urgent problem. Residues caused by pesticide abuse become an important object supervised by the food safety department. Overall, the current usage of chemical pesticides face many challenges.
Related Policies
Experts pointed out that the government is now supporting the development of new biological methods to control bacterial infection that can replace chemical pesticides. The prevailing trend in modern society is towards organic agriculture and minimising the use of chemicals. Coupled with the government subsidies for novel biological controls, our research is very promising.
Advantages and Problems of Phage Therapy
Experts pointed out that the government is now supporting the development of new biological methods to control bacterial infection that can replace chemical pesticides. The prevailing trend in modern society is towards organic agriculture and minimising the use of chemicals. Coupled with the government subsidies for novel biological controls, our research is very promising.
Lower the pathogenicity of Xanthomonas
Experts recommended that we can knock out pathogenic genes of Xanthomonas to compromise the pathogenicity of the bacteria strain. Our team identified the encoding genes of the T3SS secretion system in Xanthomonas in our study. The T3SS system has the function of secreting proteins, reducing the activity of the plant's immune system, and benefiting its growth. However, knocking out this gene is impracticable in our project. But we have found a self-stopping mechanism in Xanthomonas - GdpX1. The overproduction of GdpX1 can reduce the virulence function of Xanthomonas significantly.
Problem of Super Bacteria
In response to our project, experts suggested that phage therapy would be difficult to use in agriculture because of its relationship with bacterial parasitism, but this creative method would be a good strategy. Phage therapy has great performance in the laboratory experiment, everything is controlled in that case. However, when it comes to agriculture production, stability is the main problem. The environmental composition in the soil is too complex and highly uncertain. Phages can kill certain bacteria, but then they can react with other bacteria and substances in the soil, resulting in unpredictable consequences, such as forming a new superbacteria. Therefore, in the first stage of our project, we should conduct the experiment in the enclosed environment for the sake of biosafety.
Operation Methods
Experts have explained that the common methods of applying pesticides on vegetation include injecting and spraying the plants. Since our product is designed for large-scale usage, we decided to use UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle) spraying to reduce labor cost.
Market Plan Description
To launch our project, we polled over a hundred people about their opinions on phage therapy. With fifty-nine percent of the surveyed expressing approval for adopting the phage treatment, we developed Killer-X as a Xoo eliminator, which entirely abolished the usage of chemical bactericides. We further implemented our project by figuring out the proper hardware for spreading Killer-X. To increase the functionality of Killer-X, we took advantage of dry-powder-producing technology to enable easy storage. Moreover, we did online research and reached out to agricultural professionals, who introduced us Chinese government's policies on promoting green farming and popularizing high-tech agricultural devices; the policies are aligned with our purpose of exposing Killer-X to the market. We are bringing our project closer to commercialization by making this market analyzation.
