In an exciting move by Government Agri-Tech Innovation Centre, CABI, and Fera, researchers who investigate crop production have a new tool to support their work. The National Reference Collection has just been released, offering a place for storage of and access to valuable live isolates of both fungi and bacteria.

The Collection even has systems in place to maintain confidentiality, so those working on strains involved in patent applications can rest easy when using their services. The Collection provides an opportunity to aggregate knowledge on cop health and widen the options for biopesticides. With this tool in hand, research into the industry has fewer barriers to jump over.