Qualterra Inc., a Pullman, Washington-based agricultural biotechnology company that operates a research farm in the Spokane area, is developing a new technology for a platform that aims to eliminate viruses from certain crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program awarded $175,000 to Qualterra earlier this month.

Representatives of Qualterra couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

Funds will help Qualterra address specialty crop protection and food security technology through the testing and assessment of virus-elimination strategies, such as treatments involving heating, freezing, chemotherapy, and other techniques.

The goal for the funding of Qualterra's platform and service is to identify the best treatments for each crop and establish recommended protocols for virus elimination, a release states.

“This grant award ... will help accelerate the development of our virus cleaning technology platform that is so desperately needed in our industry,” asserts Qualterra CEO Mike Werner in the release.

Plant virus infections are responsible for about half of plant diseases worldwide, threaten crop diversity and food security, and account for $30 billion in global economic losses, according to a March 2022 report by London-based research publication BioMed Central Limited.

The research and development aims to benefit growers of high-value, proprietary, heritage, and heirloom crop varieties, where virus cleaning is the only option to save diseased plants.

Qualterra's senior genomics scientist and grants management specialist Seanna Hewitt says efficient and accessible virus cleaning services are crucial to ensure the protection, resilience, and sustainability of the horticulture industry.

"This SBIR award has provided an avenue for us to be able to explore, optimize, and deliver these solutions," Hewitt says in the release.