Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research
Project Number: 2038-22430-002-004-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 30, 2015
End Date: Sep 30, 2020
Objective:
Determine the potential of oxygenated phosphine fumigation to manage phosphine resistant stored product insects.
Develop nitric oxide fumigation treatments to control stored product pests including ham mites on hams.
Determine the mode of action of nitric oxide fumigation against insects.
Approach:
To utilize available resources at USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Kansas State University to have a cooperative effort to solve postharvest pest problems including managing phosphine resistant pest populations, developing novel nitric oxide fumigation treatments, and understanding mode of toxicity of nitric oxide fumigation against insects. Oxygenated phosphine fumigation will be evaluated for its potential to manage phosphine resistant stored product insects. Laboratory fumigation tests will be conducted to compare resistance ratios of phosphine resistant insects to regular phosphine fumigation and oxygenated phosphine fumigation to determine whether oxygen level play any role in phosphine resistance and whether it is feasible to manage phosphine resistant insect populations with oxygenated phosphine fumigation. Laboratory tests will be conducted to evaluate efficacy of nitric oxide fumigation against stored product pests including ham mites. Effective treatments will then be tested on stored products to verify the efficacy and determine effects on product quality. Research will also be conducted using biochemical and molecular biology techniques to understand the mode of toxicity of nitric oxide fumigation.
