Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

...With James Nolen and Company, Warwick, RI, to develop traps and other tools to monitor and control mosquitoes, biting flies and midges. Few chemicals are now registered to control these pests, so alternatives are needed. Traps are one option; they would reduce the need for spraying chemical insecticides in residential and commercial areas. The company and ARS scientists will develop and test a variety of traps and two chemical attractants, octenol and carbon dioxide, as lures. Carbon dioxide is a universal attractant for mosquitoes, flies and other insect pests, while octenol is found in cow's breath and attracts certain mosquito and fly species.
ARS contact: Daniel L. Kline
Medical and Veterinary Entomology Research Lab, Gainesville, FL
(352) 374-5933

...With Perdue Farms of Salisbury, MD, to turn chicken feathers into a biodegradable substitute for wood or synthetic fibers such as plastics or nylon. By studying feathers in a magnetic resonance spectrometer, a device similar to the MRI imagers used in hospitals for brain scans, an ARS scientist discovered the properties that make the feather an engineering marvel. It has strong fibers that are more absorbent than wood or plastic. A newly-developed, fiber separation process uses less water, energy and chemicals than for other fibers. Initially, the feather fibers will be used in disposable diapers, hospital wipes and feminine hygiene napkins. Future products may include air filters, oil filters, specialty papers and structural composites similar to fiberglass. Feather fibers cost less than most wood or synthetic fibers. They also distribute moisture more evenly, increasing the fiber's absorbency powers. And they can be composted in anyone's backyard in three weeks, as long as commercially available microbes are added. (Patent Application 08/175,077)
ARS Contact: Walter F. Schmidt
Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
(301) 504-5030

...With Tenneco Packaging, Inc., Canandaigua, NY, to develop biodegradable containers made with wheat starch. Researchers will investigate techniques to process the starch. That way, equipment used to make food and beverage containers from petroleum-based plastics might produce inexpensive, starch-derived substitutes. The research could lead to low-cost, single-use containers readily disposable by environmentally sound methods such as composting. This could spawn a new market for wheat starch and boost farm income.
ARS contact: Gregory M. Glenn
Cereal Product Utilization Research Unit, Albany, CA
(510) 559-5677

...With Advanced Information Management and Movement, Inc. (AIM), of Starkville, MS, to determine if instruments designed for espionage and war can be adapted to agriculture. Systems made to detect traces of dangerous chemicals on battlefields may be used by agricultural computers to detect traces of insect chemical scents, called pheromones, that signal an oncoming attack of pests. In addition, catfish farmers could use this program to detect off-flavors in ponds. Radar systems designed to detect troops and tanks could be used to measure growth in cotton. Tools the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency uses to hear distant conversations may pick up leaf movements when pests are feeding. Systems designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to chart weather patterns may be used to detect plant stress and soil moisture when used with non-piloted aircraft.
ARS Contact: Jim McKinion
Crop Science Research Laboratory, Mississippi State, MS
(601) 324-4376

...With Sonoco Products, Inc., Hartsville, SC, to test colored plastic mulches that can boost yields of tomatoes and other crops. Sonoco produced a red plastic mulch based on a formula developed by ARS scientists, and the mulch is now being marketed by Ken-Bar, Inc., Reading, MA. ARS research has shown that red mulch stimulates plant growth more effectively than black mulch. Red mulch reflects certain wavelengths of light that make the plant act like it's being crowded by neighboring plants. In response, the plant puts more energy into above-ground growth, including fruit. In preliminary field studies, tomato plants grown with the red plastic produced 500 number-one fruit in the first two and a half weeks of harvest--about 20 percent more than the 410 fruit from plants grown with black mulch. Scientists are now testing the red mulch formulation on tomatoes and other crops including strawberries and peppers in Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
ARS Contact: Michael J. Kasperbauer
Soil, Water and Plant Research Center, Florence, SC
(803) 669-5203

...With Rishellco, Inc., of Crowley, LA, to create a low-fat alternative to French fried potatoes using rice. ARS researchers have found that using rice instead of potatoes lowers fat content in fries by up to 50 percent. Subtle differences in the chemistry of rice seem to make it better at keeping fat out. Rice fries can be flavored with onion or spices to make a tasty snack. The fries will be made from fine flour, using a machine similar to those used in making breakfast cereals.
ARS Contact: Ranjit Kadan
Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA
(504) 286-4332

...With the Canola Council of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, to study canola meal as an alternative protein source in channel catfish feeds. The canola would be a partial or total substitute for more costly soybean meal. Researchers are studying the catfish's growth, feed utilization efficiency, survival rates, body composition, immune response and disease resistance in evaluating canola meal. Switching from soybean meal to canola meal would hold down costs for fish farmers and provide an expanded market for canola. Feed accounts for 40 to 60 percent of aquaculture production costs.
ARS Contact: Chhorn Lim
Fish Diseases and Parasites Research, Auburn, AL
(334) 887-3741

...With Dynamax, Inc., of Houston, TX, to automatically control irrigation systems based on how much water is stored in the soil. Designed by ARS researchers, a computer-operated system turns on water pumps only when there's not enough water for plant roots to take in. An electronic pulse is sent through a cable to stainless steel soil probes placed in the ground to varying depths--from every couple of inches down to several feet. Water content in the soil is then computed, based on the time it takes the pulse to travel through the probe: The longer it takes, the more water available. The probes work in most irrigated agricultural soils. Dynamax, which is now manufacturing the system, will develop it further with help from ARS and Texas A&M University researchers to control irrigation for cotton and other field crops. Another likely use is automated greenhouse watering. It is expected that the system's cost may be offset by labor savings and lower expenses from pumping water only when needed.
ARS contact: Steve Evett
Water Management Research, Bushland, TX
(806) 356-5775

...With Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnson, IA, to find genetic markers that will allow scientists to "fingerprint" corn and other crops. Researchers will focus on genetic markers called simple sequence repeats (SSRs), patterns that are unique to an individual plant. The goal is to isolate and automatically screen these SSRs in specific plant cultivars--giving each plant its own individual "fingerprint." Such information will be helpful to plant breeders, because they will know without question a plant's genetic background when they breed new varieties. Germplasm curators can also use the fingerprints when cataloguing their collections. Now curators often don't know, or can't be sure, about the precise genetic identity and makeup of each cultivar in their collections. Genetic "fingerprinting" could help solve these problems.
ARS contact: Stephen Kresovich
Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit, Griffin, GA
(404) 228-7254

...With three commercial firms to test laboratory-designed compounds that mimic natural pest-killing chemicals made by a wild tobacco plant. The compounds, synthetic sucrose esters, quickly penetrate whiteflies and other soft-bodied pests of many crops. The pests start dying within a half hour. An ARS scientist designed the synthetic molecules, which consist of sugar with attached fatty acids. The same components make up natural sucrose esters in leaves of Nicotiana gossei, a wild Australian relative of commercial tobacco. Synthetic esters killed up to 100 percent of silverleaf whiteflies, aphids, leafhoppers and mites in lab and greenhouse tests. In an initial field trial, the esters cut whitefly populations by nearly half. The esters should be easy and economical to mass-produce and, unlike some conventional insecticides, are quickly and completely biodegradable. ARS scientists are testing the synthetic sugar esters on field crops, including fruits and vegetables, under a CRADA with Rohm and Haas Co., Spring House, PA. A CRADA with Fuller System, Inc., Woburn, MA, will examine using the esters to protect ornamentals and greenhouse plants. Tests with pecans and other tree fruit and nut crops will be conducted with Griffin Corp., Valdosta, GA. The agency is seeking a patent on use of the esters.
ARS Contact: O.T. Chortyk
Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, Athens, GA
(706) 546-3424

... With BASF Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC, to test whether a plant growth regulator made by that company can reduce the number of undeveloped cotton fibers that cause imperfections when a mill dyes cotton. The regulator, sold under the name PIX, is currently used throughout the cotton belt to reduce plant height (so the plant uses its energy to grow bolls) and enhance boll production. New tests will determine if the regulator has the potential to prevent drought-induced damage in cotton grown in dry areas. Without irrigation, western-grown cotton can develop more than its share of immature fibers. Texas A&M researchers, also part of this research, will grow treated cotton plants with and without irrigation. They will also grow control groups under similar conditions. Then, ARS researchers will test the fiber quality of the harvested cotton.
ARS Contact: Gayle H. Davidonis
Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA
(504) 286-4273

...With instrument company Zellweger Uster, Inc., of Knoxville, TN, to use a new electrical sensor to measure cotton fiber moisture during quality checks. Originally developed by ARS researchers for cotton ginning, the sensor can be used in other industries such as textile processing and cotton marketing classification. By measuring and adjusting for moisture levels, the sensor can help predict fiber strength and other fiber qualities. This reduces or eliminates the need for a costly pre-classification conditioning process in which cotton samples are held in a controlled environment for up to 48 hours to restore natural moisture levels lost during ginning. ARS and Zellweger Uster are validating a moisture measurement system for its eventual commercialization and introduction into the cotton industry. (Patent Application 08/273,244)
ARS Contact: W. Stanley Anthony
U.S. Cotton Ginning Laboratory, Stoneville, MS
(601) 686-3094