Flystrike-resistant tea tree oil aims to provide woolgrowers resolve from chemical dependence and resistance

A new eco-friendly biopesticide research project aims to develop a tea tree oil using nanotechnology that provides prolonged, safe, and residue-free flystrike protection for sheep. With the sheep industry facing an ever-increasing emergence of chemical resistance to current blowfly strike control options, the timing of this important project has been welcomed by Australian Wool Innovation and other funding contributors. If an effective eco-friendly biopesticide were to become available, the application could meet all workplace health and safety, and residue and environmental concerns. The project aims to redefine delivery methods that use a current biopesticide product as a blowfly repellent and tackle the challenges of their short protection periods and lack of potency compared with available chemical options. To date, biopesticides have not been a practical option for woolgrowers, but the project aims to use nanotechnology to provide a solution to these challenges. Nanotechnology, or the study of very small things, looks at nanoparticles that are less than a thousandth of a millimetre in size. AWI program manager of animal wellbeing and industry resilience Carolina Diaz said building on previous AWI investment in nanotechnology for flystrike control, researchers hoped to develop a new method of delivering biopesticides that provided extended protection and were softer on the environment. “Led by the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries, this project will design and test natural and environmentally friendly tea tree oil nano-formulations to give prolonged periods of protection against flystrike, with minimal residues and off-target effects,” she said. “Tea tree oil, an essential oil extracted from the Australian tea tree plant, is already being used in many external parasitic treatments such as human lice treatments, domestic pet tick control, and fly repellent. “Previous AWI investment into nanotechnology for flystrike control, carried out by the University of Queensland, has already demonstrated the ability of silica nanoparticles to provide extended periods of protection in laboratory tests.” Ms Diaz said the project aimed to design and develop a nano-formulation that could be loaded with Australian tea tree oil to extend protection against flystrike when applied to sheep. She said research on the project began earlier this year and was planned to run for the next two years. “The project has a clear stop and go point next year linked to whether the researchers can demonstrate the effectiveness of the formulation against sheep blowfly in the lab, and hence whether the project should progress to animal trials,” she said. The research has been co-funded by AWI, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and AgriFutures representing the tea tree oil industry. The Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries and the University of Queensland are providing in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions of technical expertise and tea tree oil for the trials are also being provided by Main Camp, the largest tea tree oil producer in Australia.