Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
ISCA Technologies will further develop and optimize MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB, two safe and effective semiochemical-based solutions to manage Douglas-fir beetle (DFB), Dendroctonus pseudotsugae, and spruce beetle (SB), D. rufipennis, two of the most damaging forest pests in western North America. DFB is a leading killer of Douglas-fir from northern Mexico to southern Canada, with infestations occurring after wildfires or windstorms, which produce widespread tree mortality and damage and consequently an abundance of beetle host material. DFB impacts are being exacerbated by climate change, which increases beetle survival during the winter and also puts more stress on trees. SB is the leading cause of mortality among mature spruce trees from Alaska to Arizona, destroying ~333-500 million board feet of timber annually. Such extensive tree mortality depletes timber supplies, increases fire frequency and severity, and disrupts forest management planning and operations. Current control tactics for DFB and SB are limited to silvicultural treatments to improve forest health and increase tree stand vigor, strategic removal of infested trees, preventative single-tree treatments using large quantities of toxic insecticides, and hand application of plastic dispensers containing the anti-aggregation pheromone, 3-methylcycolhex-2-en-1-one (MCH), which have proven unreliable for control of SB.In this Phase II project, ISCA will finalize the development and commercialize two non-toxic repellent products, MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB, to protect trees and forests from DFB and SB. Both products will comprise thick, flowable long-lasting formulations amenable to mechanical application, combining MCH with a biodegradable controlled-release matrix, SPLAT® (Specialized Pheromone & Lure Application Technology). MCH Repel SB will include three additional repellent semiochemicals [acetophenone, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, and (Z)-2-hexen-1-ol] to improve its efficacy against SB. These products will release biologically active doses of repellents for up to 4 months, preventing beetle mass attacks and providing season-long protection of susceptible trees. Phase I studies demonstrated that ISCA's prototype MCH Repel DFB biodegradable formulation protects individual Douglas-fir trees and stands from DFB to an equivalent degree as MCH bubblecaps, which release MCH through porous plastic pouches, but without the costly need to retrieve the plastic units at the end of the field season. In a field trial in Wyoming, MCH Repel SB was superior to bubblecaps in suppressing SB infestations. Phase II studies will build on Phase I successes by developing operational formulations suitable for commercialization, with the necessary validation of efficacy data from field trials in several locations in western North American forests.Our objectives for PII studies will be to: 1) Develop, optimize, characterize, and standardize operational formulations of MCH Repel DFB & MCH Repel SB suitable for commercialization. 2) Validate efficacy of MCH Repel DFB and foster technology transfer to end users by conducting operational field trials in western North American Douglas-fir forests. 3) Elevate MCH Repel SB to the same developmental stage as MCH Repel DFB by accelerating small-plot experiments in Alaska and the lower 48 states. 4) Validate efficacy of MCH Repel SB and foster technology transfer by conducting operational field trials in western North American spruce forests. 5) Involve stakeholders in problem identification and implementation of results. Deliverables from Phase II will be optimized, scientifically validated operational formulations of MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB for commercial use throughout western North American forests. Users of both products in the US and Canada will be government forest health professionals, industrial foresters, private landowners, farmers, ranchers, arborists, citizens associations, and recreational managers.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
There are five main objectives for Phase II: Task 1. Develop, optimize, characterize, and standardize operational formulations of MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB suitable for immediate commercialization. Task 2. Validate efficacy of MCH Repel DFB and foster technology transfer to end users by conducting operational field trials in western North American Douglas-fir forests. Task 3. Elevate MCH Repel SB to the same developmental stage as MCH Repel DFB by accelerating small-plot experiments in Alaska and the lower 48 states. Task 4. Validate efficacy of MCH Repel SB and foster technology transfer by conducting operational field trials in western North American spruce forests. Task 5. Involve stakeholders in problem identification and implementation of results. Deliverables from Phase II will be optimized, scientifically validated operational formulations of MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB.
Project Methods
Task 1: Develop, optimize, characterize, and standardize operational formulations of MCH Repel DFB and MCH Repel SB suitable for immediate commercialization.Microencapsulated AIs (unformulated) will be subjected to longevity trials,by being hung on a wire shelf with a twist tie passed through a hole punched in the filter paper. A fan will be placed in front of the samples so that all samples receive similar air flow. Samples will be prepared for collection at 1, 4, 7, 14, 21, 28, 60, 60, and 120-day intervals to measure initial flash-off rates of the microencapsulated AIs.Task 2: Validate efficacy of MCH Repel DFB and foster technology transfer by conducting operational field trials in western North American Douglas-fir forests. Working with Dr. Chris Fettig and his USFS colleagues, ISCA will locate two to six small problem sites (up to 50 ha in size) within forested areas in which mature Douglas-fir (>30 cm DBH) comprises >80% of the tree species composition and where maintaining forested cover is desired. Examples include campsites, recreational areas, sensitive ecological zones, small parks, national monuments, private land holdings, farm or ranch woodlots, sites with prime wildlife features (e.g., owl nesting sites, ungulate overwintering areas, overwintering bear dens), sites providing valued aesthetic viewing (e.g., from a well-used highway), and forested rural communities. DFB infestation will constitute <20% of the available trees or populations will be expected to emerge from disturbed sites such as infested blowdown and threaten the site to be protected. Each problem site will be unique. For example, infested trees may remain in place or may have been removed during the previous fall and winter, access to the public or grazing cattle may be permitted or denied, or applications of carbaryl may have been made in one or more previous years. The critical criterion will be that the threat of DFB attack must be sufficiently high that one or more of the above attributes is in peril.Evaluation. Operational trials will be evaluated by total tree counts and stem mapping after DFB flight. A team leader with a hip chain will walk a compass line and record data. Flankers on either side will cover bands up to 25 m wide. Orienting to the leader, they will determine the approximate position of each attacked and unattacked tree using 2.5 m-long poles as measuring sticks. Attacked trees will be identified by the presence of beetle frass (boring dust) around the root collar and lodged in cobwebs and bark scales, resin bleeding around entrance holes if present, and early signs of crown fade. A portion of bark will be removed with an axe from trees showing external symptoms, and the inner bark (phloem tissue) will be examined for the presence of egg and larval galleries and general browning, all signs of successful attack. A small V-shaped axe cut will be made into the bark of questionable trees; if the phloem is white and pulpy, the tree will be classed as unsuccessfully colonized or unattacked, depending on whether signs of unsuccessful attack can be found. The team leader will plot the position of each tree on waterproof graph paper. Experience indicates that hand plotting is just as reliable as GPS and is fail safe. At 25-m intervals along each transect a diameter tape will be used to determine the DBH of the nearest Douglas-fir. The DBH of each successfully attacked tree will also be taken. Employing total tree plots will eliminate the need for fixed or variable radius plots to determine stocking density and enable investigators to determine the distribution of infested trees and evaluate other factors such as edge effects.Task 3. Elevate MCH Repel SB to the same developmental stage as MCH Repel DFB by accelerating small-plot experiments in Alaska and the lower 48 states. The remarkable success of MCH Repel SB in protecting individual spruce trees from SB attack in Wyoming (Table 3) was a game changer for employing SPLAT technology against SB. To exploit this opportunity maximally, ISCA will pursue Tasks 3 and 4 concurrently. For Task 3, small plot experiments will be conducted in Alaska, the lower 48 states, and Canada.?Task 4. Validate efficacy of MCH Repel SB and foster technology transfer by conducting operational field trials in western North American spruce forests. This task will be pursued with almost identical methodology and evaluation as for DFB in Task 2. Exceptions are that spruce sites are characteristically at higher elevation, have steeper slopes and are more brushy, SB has a 2-year life cycle with crown fade only occurring in the second year, access may be more difficult than in Douglas-fir stands, and field crews can be expected to feed several thousand more mosquitoes and biting flies.Task 5. Involve stakeholders in problem identification and implementation of results. We have already reached out to various stakeholder groups interested in the proposed technology. We have secured the cooperation of several research partners to participate in Phase II field trials, including Dr. Fettig; Sky Stephens, Forest Entomologist with the US Forest Service; Marnie Duthie-Holt, Regional Entomologist with the Ministry of Foreign Lands, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (British Columbia); and Jason Moan of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. John Vanderhart, President and CEO of Forestry Distributing, has also expressed great interest in the commercial potential of MCH Repel DFB and SB (see letters of support). Our interactions with North American forestry experts, especially with Dr. Borden, have provided invaluable input on the technical and practical requirements MCH Repel products must meet in order to be a viable solution for the broadest possible customer base. One aspect wherein this input has been particularly constructive is the question of which application method(s) would be best suited to these repellents. For PII trials, we will package MCH Repel DFB/SB in caulking tubes (to be used in caulking guns), which we have learned are fairly simple to use in many forestry management programs. However, as we move through PII studies, we will continue to seek end-user input on how application methods could be improved, including exploring the potential of paintball technology to apply MCH Repel point sources, which could make applications from the ground easier and faster, as well as aerial application technologies. ISCA has already tested other SPLAT formulations similar to MCH Repel applied using drones or fixed-wing aircraft, and in some cases, large-scale or commercial aerial applications have already been made. If such an application method proves feasible for MCH Repel DFB and SB, it could allow for treatment of much larger tracts of land more quickly, as well as overcoming the challenge of access to remote areas.?