EcoPhage has submitted its EcoSpud biopesticide to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for regulatory approval.

EcoSpud is designed to help protect potatoes from blackleg and soft rot, two bacterial diseases caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya species. The pathogens can infect stems and tubers, resulting in black stem lesions, soft rot, storage losses and reduced marketable yields.

EcoSpud is a preventative biopesticide that uses naturally occurring bacteriophages – viruses that infect bacteria – to target the disease-causing pathogens. The product contains a consortium of bacteriophages selected to provide broad pathogen coverage and multiple modes of bacterial infection. According to the company, the formulation can be incorporated into existing crop management programs without requiring changes to current production practices.

The EPA submission adds EcoSpud to EcoPhage’s pipeline of biological crop protection products under regulatory review. Other products in development target bacterial diseases in tomatoes, peppers, apples, pears, brassica crops and strawberries.

The company says its phage-based products are designed to control bacterial plant diseases while preserving beneficial microorganisms. The products are non-GMO and leave no chemical residues.

“Potatoes represent one of the most important agricultural crops in the United States, with the entire potato industry contributing more than $100 billion annually to the U.S. economy,” said Guy Elitzur, chief executive officer of EcoPhage. “The submission of EcoSpud to the EPA represents another important milestone in our mission to bring next-generation phage technology to agriculture.”

EcoPhage developed its bacteriophage discovery platform in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science. The company says the platform is intended to speed the development of biological products targeting bacterial plant diseases across multiple crops.