Dr. Neil Forrester is an entomologist and biotechnology specialist, who began his career as an entomologist working on a range of field crops, including implementing conventional insecticide and transgenic crop resistance management strategies. After earning his PhD from the University of Queensland, he became deeply involved in the development and application of biotechnology in field crops.
Neil came to prominence within the cotton industry with his work on insecticide resistance management during a period when the industry struggled to manage Helicoverpa armigera which rapidly evolved resistance to pyrethroids and other chemical groups prior to the deployment of Bt cotton. Prior to the arrival of transgenic traits to control some insect pests such as Helicoverpa, there was an urgent need for strategies to minimise the likelihood of pests becoming resistant to available chemicals. Neil Forrester provided much advice for strategies involving damage thresholds and particularly rotating chemical controls. This advice was followed by growers and consultants which was very successful.
Neil is currently the lead for Asia-Pacific and Africa at AgriThority LLC, an independent agriculture field and clinical data-through-delivery product and market development company. Neil was previously Vice President of Business Development for Hexima Ltd, an Australian transgenic technology company, after serving over nine years with Delta and Pine Land Pty Ltd. While at Delta and Pineland he served in several capacities, including global Director of New Markets, based in Memphis, TN.