Biocontrol agents and their influence on the cannabis testing space

Biocontrol agents are a promising and mature agricultural technology that offer a more environmentally friendly solution to controlling pathogenic microbial risks found on agricultural products than the conventional use of chemical pesticides[1]. Often, the application of non-pathogenic or atoxigenic microbial strains can help to outcompete pathogenic microbes in a given niche[2,3]. The genomes of these biocontrol organisms are often modified to eliminate the production of the toxin[4]. This genome driven approach can reduce or even eliminate the use of pesticides or fungicides[3]. Agricultural markets that utilize extraction techniques to concentrate particular resins or nutrients are often drawn to biocontrol approaches as some pesticides and fungicides are known to become enriched during extraction process while the biocontrol agents are often eliminated[5,6].