Source: ISCA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. submitted to
SPLAT BLOOM: FOCUSED BEE POLLINATION IN SAFE TARGET AREAS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1016735
Grant No.
2018-33610-28618
Cumulative Award Amt.
$600,000.00
Proposal No.
2018-03712
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2018
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2020
Grant Year
2018
Program Code
[8.2]- Plant Production and Protection-Biology
Recipient Organization
ISCA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
2060 CHICAGO AVE STE C2
RIVERSIDE,CA 92507
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The long-term aim of this project is to provide growers of honeybee-dependent crops and commercial beekeepers with SPLAT Bloom and SuperBoost, two semiochemical-based products to improve the health and performance of pollinators in US crop fields. Applied together, these two products will provide a safe and effective means to 1) improve the pollination performance of honeybee colonies by focusing their foraging activity within the target crop; 2) help to prevent the loss of these vital insects to accidental exposure to pesticides (as a result of honeybees venturing beyond the target field and into surrounding areas that may have been contaminated by harmful chemicals); and 3) bolster the health and resilience of honeybee hives by encouraging higher levels of foraging among worker bees. In light of the declines in availability of commercial honeybee hives as well as the growing obstacles for achieving effective crop pollination in today's demanding agricultural systems, SPLAT Bloom and SuperBoost will be extremely valuable tools to improve yield and quality for a variety of bee-pollinated crops, resulting in a positive economic impact for growers both in the US and worldwide.
Animal Health Component
33%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
33%
Applied
33%
Developmental
34%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
20530101130100%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3010 - Honey bees;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
ISCA proposes to develop and optimize an effective semiochemical-based strategy to promote the health and activity of European honeybees (Apis mellifera) within a desired area to increase pollination of flowering crops. Two-thirds of crops used for food production depend on pollination by insects, particularly honeybees, but in recent decades, achieving adequate crop pollination has become a greater challenge. With today's large monocultures, an extremely high demand for beehives occurs in periods of only a few weeks across large areas, a demand that far exceeds the available supply. The number of managed beehives in the US has declined from ~6 million in the 1940s, to less than 2.5 million today, while the area dedicated to bee-pollinated crops has grown by over 300%. There is a clear need across agricultural industries for a management tool to draw pollinators into crop fields that have been prepared to receive the bees (no pesticide residues) and encourage them to preferentially pollinate the target crop.ISCA proposes to develop a strategy to help growers deal with these challenges, consisting of two semiochemical products, SPLAT Bloom and SuperBoost. SPLAT Bloom will be applied to the crop to attract foraging honeybees to target areas, inciting them to visit flowers in every portion of the field. The bees never touch SPLAT Bloom dollops; rather, the volatiles emanating from the formulation incite them to spend more time in the treated area, forage more between trips back to the hive, and visit more flowers. SuperBoost is a semiochemical formulation that mimics honeybee brood pheromone, enclosed in a controlled-release pouch. When placed within the frames of honey bee hives, SuperBoost sends a chemical message to worker bees to gather more food, inciting the bees to increase foraging activities, increasing the number of foraging trips and flower visitation rate, and creating larger pollen hauls brought to the hive. This strategy will provide apiculturists and crop growers with improved management capacity over honeybee colonies, allowing for increased flower visitation, maintenance of foraging bees in specific treated areas (increasing the productivity of commercial hives), and reduced bee exposure to pesticides.
Project Methods
A primary objective of this Phase II project is to optimize the effectiveness of the previously developed SPLAT Bloom formulation, as well as to create a formulation specifically tailored for application to fruit and nut tree crops, which can be applied with a less viscous consistency more amenable to standard liquid applicator technology that can be used straight off the shelves by the grower. ISCA will also focus on the further development of SuperBoost inserts for bee hives, which has been proven to increase the foraging rate of the colony. Trials will be run to determine the synergistic effects of SPLAT Bloom and SuperBoost together, as well as their individual impacts, to assess the effect of liquid SPLAT Bloom (applied on the flowering trees) and SuperBoost (applied in the bee hive) on pollination, fruit set and quality and crop yield. We will also adapt the applicator equipment developed in Phase I to be compatible with the liquid formulation and for use with the tractors commonly used in the fruit and nut tree crops in which it is to be applied. Both SPLAT Bloom formulations (viscous and liquid) will be submitted for field trials in California almond and cane berry crops. In Phase II, ISCA will also develop a smart hive-sensor that not only records bee activity, but also continuously records hive weight and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity to get a full profile of the colony health during the trials.

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The APIS Bloomstrategy will provide apiculturists and crop growers with improved management capacity over honeybee colonies, allowing for increased flower visitation, maintenance of foraging bees in specific treated areas (increasing the productivity of commercial hives), and reduced bee exposure to pesticides and pathogens. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?ISCA continues to bring details of APIS Bloom trials and development to national conferences such as the Entomological Society of America, as well as local grower's meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our primary success in this project to date is in generating data regarding the physical characteristics of two experimental formulations of APIS Bloom, 15M-40 and PGPR, when exposed to a number of highly challenging conditions (sustained high temperatures and heavy rainfall), as well as characterizing their AI release profiles over time. While further formulation studies are needed to ensure that APIS Bloom sustains the release of honeybee attractants at biologically active rates for the target field life of 3 weeks, tests conducted thus far have identified one experimental formulation (PGPR) that maintains its stability despite being kept at temperatures of 54°C for a period of 14 days, and remains 80% intact even after being subjected to 100 mm of simulated rain. This formulation also retained the incorporated attractants (geraniol and nerol) at higher concentrations after a 28-day aging study than the other prototype tested in this trial (15M-40), suggesting this version of APIS Bloom would be better able to sustain its efficacy in the field for a longer period of time. The APIS Bloom almond field trial showed that the product has great commercial potential for growers of a variety of conventionally pollinated crops. The 10.3% yield increase that was reported equates to a $1920/ha increase in revenue, still $1775/ha when the treatment costs are factored in. These results will continue to make APIS Bloom a commercial success. ISCA will continue to work to engage the involvement and input of relevant stakeholders, including growers and beekeepers into post-PII commercialization efforts for APIS Bloom to ensure that this product adequately address the real-world needs of these end-users.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several planned field trials were cancelled, and progress has been delayed by several months. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Once ISCA has demonstrated the capacity of this formulation of APIS Bloom to remain stable and affixed to its application site, and to continue releasing its incorporated AIs regardless of weather conditions, we will subject this formulation to testing with off-the-shelf application equipment, as well as the mechanized APIS application system developed in Phase I of this project. Additional PII research will consist of studies on smart hive sensors, to evaluate the impacts of APIS Bloom and SuperBoost on honeybee colony health and activity, and field trials to assess the effects of both technologies on pollination and crop yield in treated almond fields. ISCA will also work to engage the involvement and input of relevant stakeholders, including growers and beekeepers, throughout PII studies and into post-PII commercialization efforts for APIS Bloom and SuperBoost, to ensure that these products adequately address the real-world needs of these end-users.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Our primary success in this project to date is in generating data regarding the physical characteristics of two experimental formulations of APIS Bloom, 15M-40 and PGPR, when exposed to a number of highly challenging conditions (sustained high temperatures and heavy rainfall), as well as characterizing their AI release profiles over time. While further formulation studies are needed to ensure that APIS Bloom sustains the release of honeybee attractants at biologically active rates for the target field life of 3 weeks, tests conducted thus far have identified one experimental formulation (PGPR) that maintains its stability despite being kept at temperatures of 54°C for a period of 14 days, and remains 80% intact even after being subjected to 100 mm of simulated rain. This formulation also retained the incorporated attractants (geraniol and nerol) at higher concentrations after a 28-day aging study than the other prototype tested in this trial (15M-40), suggesting this version of APIS Bloom would be better able to sustain its efficacy in the field for a longer period of time.

    Publications