A mathematician from the University of Sussex, Dr. Konstantin Bluss, who works with biologists at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, developed a non-chemical method of targeting a parasitic worm that destroys wheat crops.
This pest control method works with the plant's own genes to kill certain microscopic worms, called nematodes, without harming any other insects, birds or mammals.
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Dr. Konstantin Bluss from the University of Sussex School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences said: "Given the growing population of the planet that needs to be fed and the urgent need to switch from fossil fuels to biofuels, our research is an important step forward in the search for environmentally friendly plant protection harm to bees or other insects. "
Annually, due to diseases caused by nematodes, a crop worth $ 130 billion is lost. Dr. Bluuss and his colleagues used RNA interference (RNAi) to accurately target the type of nematode that harms wheat. 
Dr. Bluss explained: "Nematodes, like all other living organisms, require some proteins to be developed to survive and produce offspring, and RNA interference is a process that stops or silences them."
The team has developed a method of silencing the genes of harmful nematodes using biostimulants derived from natural soil bacteria. Biostimulants also "turn off" their own plant genes, which are affected by nematodes, which greatly complicates the parasite's damage to the crop.
Recommended for reading:The gene silencing process is triggered when biostimulants are applied to wheat, which are metabolites of bacteria found naturally in soil. Biostimulants can be applied either by soaking seeds or roots in a solution containing biostimulants, or by adding a solution to the soil in which the plants grow.
Dr. Bluss said: “Soaked in a solution of biostimulants, plant seeds become a Trojan horse to deliver special compounds produced inside plants to nematodes, which then kill them. We target specific nematodes, so we know that it is not will affect other creatures. "
Biostimulants affect only certain genes of nematodes and plants and do not harm other species of insects. And because they are found in nature, not from chemicals, they can potentially be used by organic farmers to make organic products more affordable in the future.
