Progress 05/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This SBIR Phase I project focused on one of the most destructive insect pests of forests in North America, Dendroctonus ponderosae, the mountain pine beetle (MPB), which is responsible for the mortality of millions of pine trees across much of Western North America. One of the main tasks of the USDA Forest Service (USFS) is to report on the health of the nation's forests, over 750 million acres of public and private land. In its most recent reports (2010 and 2011), the outlook for our country's forests has been particularly grim; the total forest acreage with unmistakable and irreversible signs of death (resulting from MPB damage) was estimated to be 10.6 million acres. These numbers only include USFS monitored lands, and it is therefore conceivable that MPB has caused damage and/or tree mortality in more than 10 million acres of forest in the last few years alone. Such damage also brings an increased potential for forest wildfires due to the large acreages of dry, dead trees. The combination of dead tree matter and summer drought creates ideal conditions for forest fires. In fact, such conditions were present in the state of Colorado which suffered from a number of devastating forest fires in the summer of 2012. Methods to control the mountain pine beetle and other bark beetle species are, and will continue to be, in great demand as we struggle to protect the nation's pristine forest ecosystems, managed timber areas, and the people that visit our national parks or live in the vicinity of these grand areas. Our management strategy is focused on single tree and small stand protection based on local applications of a long-lasting formulation containing the bark beetle anti-aggregation semiochemical, verbenone. Numerous small, reservoir-type releasers with longer lasting release periods should provide better pheromone dispersal and could better simulate natural pheromone release from tree trunks or a forest stand, providing better efficacy compared to larger, less numerous releasers such as pouches and bubble-caps. One of the benefits of SPLAT (Specialized Pheromone & Lure Application Technology) is its flowable nature which allows for application of an infinite number of point sources in varying sizes and shapes. Unlike pouches or bubblecaps, a single application (1 kg/acre) of SPLATverb can be applied in 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000 or hundreds of thousands of point sources per acre; as many as deemed necessary based on bark beetle population density and program needs. The added flexibility that comes from working with SPLAT translates into an optimized application scenario without increasing the amount of pheromone applied per unit area or the formulation/application cost per area protected. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The results of this USDA SBIR Phase I project have been outstanding thus far, contributing toward a SPLATverb formulation that is extremely effective and amenable to a variety of manual and mechanical application methods. SPLATverb was formulated to release verbenone over a sustained period of time (8 to 12 weeks) at levels that disrupt the aggregation behavior of mountain pine beetles, thereby preventing or reducing the level of MPB damage and subsequent tree mortality. In preliminary field studies, SPLATverb prevented MPB mass attack among individually treated pine trees with nearly 100% protection. Small-scale forest protection was as encouraging as our single tree applications, which surpassed the level of protection afforded by currently available verbenone or bark beetle repellent products. The current formulation contains all organic ingredients and can be applied directly to trees using conventional or off-the-shelf equipment. Furthermore, EPA registration of the final SPLATverb product is ongoing.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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