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By Alice McFarlane

Insect Research Centre

USask begins research on insects in new facility

Apr 6, 2023 | 11:46 AM

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) will house the first insect research facility with quarantine capabilities in a western Canadian university.

The Saskatchewan Insect Research Facility (USIRF), located in the Agriculture Building on the USask Saskatoon campus, is a 500-square-foot site meets Canadian Food Inspection Agency Plant Protection Containment Level-2A requirements, allowing researchers to study non-native insects and pathogens that pose a potential threat to western Canadian crops.

USask vice-president of research Dr. Baljit Singh said USIRF places the university in a unique position among research institutions in Canada.

“This facility, and the research it will lend itself to, is another example of how USask is leading in the areas of food security and agriculture. We are tackling important questions that will ultimately have an impact and better our communities,” he said.

USask entomologist and USIRF research lead Dr. Sean Prager said insects are an important part of agricultural ecosystems but some present huge economic and environmental risk.

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“The USIRF provides us a space to pre-emptively study how these pests would work in our environment and with Saskatchewan crops before they become an issue,” Prager said. “This facility also allows us to involve students in this research, which means we can train students at the highest level of entomological research.”

The bio-secure insect-rearing and quarantine facility has mechanical and operating safeguards to prevent accidental release and cross-contamination of harmful species. The USIRF contains climate-controlled chambers for sustaining insects and infested plants, and space for conducting experiments.

There will be collaborations between pest researchers and Crop Development Centre plant breeders. College of Agriculture and Bioresources Dean Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn said researchers will be able to develop methods of managing insects, resulting in new ways to predict pest outbreaks, decrease pesticide use, and develop new pest-resistant crop varieties.

“Our researchers will be able conduct the high-impact entomological research needed in Saskatchewan to develop more sustainable pest-management options and mitigate future risk,” Bedard-Haughn said. “These discoveries will have economic benefit for producers and help protect our agricultural ecosystems.”

Funding for the USIRF comes from USask, the Western Grains Research Foundation, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, and the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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