The new University of Saskatchewan (USask) Insect Research Facility (USIRF) will be the first of its kind in a Western Canadian university and one of only a handful of facilities in the country specifically designed to conduct research on arthropod plant pests and beneficial insects.
Funding for the design and construction of the USIRF will be provided from a variety of sources, including $70,000 from Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG). The USIRF will be led by Dr. Sean Prager (PhD), the first entomologist at USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
“This new facility will add substantial research capacity to the University of Saskatchewan,” said Prager. “It will allow us to work with the USask Crop Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and USask plant breeders to identify problematic resistance traits to pests that are yet to be established. This provides a massive head start when you consider the time it takes to breed new varieties and cultivars.”
Learn more at the USask website.