Maurijn van der Zee searches for insecticides that protect crops without harming wildlife or leaving residues in our food. His GREENSHIELD project received funding from the NWO Open Technology Programme.
The GREENSHIELD research by Van der Zee and co-applicants Michael Richardson and Nathaniel Martin, all from the Leiden Institute of Biology (IBL), is one of six awarded projects. In this project, the researchers hope to find new alternatives to current insecticides.
Nature-inspired weapons against insect pests
'The crops grown by farmers are under constant attack by insect pests,' says Van der Zee. 'Therefore, they typically use insecticides to protect their crops.' But many pests are now resistant to these insecticides. In addition, they can also harm wildlife and leave residues in our food. That is why Van der Zee and his colleagues are looking for new insecticides that do not have these disadvantages. They are doing this together with their partner Bayer AG.
Safe insecticides must guarantee global food security
This is particularly important because global food production will need to double by 2050 to keep pace with population growth. (Resistant) insect pests therefore pose a direct threat to global food security.
Van der Zee and his colleagues are turning to nature for inspiration. 'Plants often contain natural insecticides, and so we will screen 2,240 plant extracts for new insecticidal compounds against insect pests,' he explains. 'Our aim is to provide farmers worldwide with safer, more effective insecticides to protect their crops.'
