Project Number: 5302-43000-037-05
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Oct 01, 2010
End Date: Sep 30, 2015

Objective:
This proposal addresses concerns of U.S. exporters with respect to European Union (EU) chemical regulation policies, which could disrupt trade of specialty crops, including dried plums.

Approach:
Important features of the proposed research include: the comparative evaluation of contemporary containment and reuse methods with methyl bromide (MB) versus registered alternative fumigants (i.e. phosphine, ozone, sulfuryl fluoride, propylene oxide), the development of novel technologies to reduce and eliminate atmospheric emissions of fumigants, the utilization of an experimental scale-up approach that begins in laboratory chambers and culminates in commercial chambers with commodity-specific industry input, and an economic cost analysis of promising technologies, particularly those applicable to quarantine & pre-shipment postharvest scenarios.