Laboratory for Pest Control Application Technology
WHO ARE WE?
LPCAT has 18 faculty members representing five disciplines, agronomy (including weed science), agricultural engineering, entomology, horticulture and plant pathology. LPCAT is a unique program that integrates and links biologists and engineers in an effort designed to advance the delivery of pest control agents. In addition, we have research links with the US Forest Service, the
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Our research efforts have been assisted by an active collaboration with the USDA Application Technology Research Unit (ATRU) also located at
OARDC's
Wooster Campus.
The advantages of the LPCAT program include the sharing of techniques and equipment with active communication with research partners in industry, academic, and government research institutes in problem solving, development engineering, and advanced computer modeling of spray particle delivery - all within the diverse area of application technology. Of special interest is the optimization of the newer "biological" pesticides in both formulation and delivery to insure an efficient exposure and dose-transfer to pest organisms. One product of this research has been the development of a device for increasing the application efficiency of hydraulic sprayers, the Double Nozzle.
WHERE ARE WE?
LPCAT is located in Wooster, Ohio, on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
(OARDC),
an agricultural research branch of The Ohio State University
(OSU). In order for you to contact us, refer to our address at the bottom of this page.
PURPOSE & GOALS
The Laboratory for Pest Control Application Technology is an interdisciplinary research program established in 1981 by The Ohio State University Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. The overall objectives of LPCAT are the following:
- To create a better understanding of pesticide delivery systems by analysis of basic processes and biological responses,
- To increase application efficiency and effectiveness of pest control agents including pesticides and biological formulations while minimizing environmental contamination,
- To develop and/or improve systems and procedures for reducing involuntary exposure to humans and non-target plants and animals, and
- To develop improved procedures for pest control and integrated pest management
(IPM) by utilizing systems science to determine the interactions of pesticide application in crop environments.
PROJECTS
The Aerometrics Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) is being used to obtain droplet size spectra data of pesticide and additives. An Image Analyzer (IA) is used to size pesticide deposits on target surfaces, eg. water sensitive paper. Water sensitive spray cards which capture droplets and allow for size measurements by the IA are extensively used in the field. A unique spray simulation lab is used to monitor spray patterns and capture efficiencies of various plant canopies.
Pesticide drift studies have traditionally used a variety of collectors. Associated protocols on drift and eco-toxicological effects are being developed in conjunction with orchard drift experiments with collaborators in USDA. A wind tunnel capture efficiency model is being used to develop droplet capture efficiency data on target (plant) and non-target species (windbreaks).
Dose-transfer studies of both foliarly and soil applied pesticides have been of particular interest at LPCAT. A particularly intriguing research project involves changing the toxin bio-availability which enables the dose transfer efficiency to be enhanced ~8-10 fold. This project addresses the relationship between presentation of a toxin, the physico-chemical properties of the formulation and the resulting "control' effect.
Bio-availability of various pesticide formulations and "presentation" continue to be a major focus of LPCAT research which has recently been enhanced by a three year EPA dose-transfer grant with biopesticides as the principle agents.
Health risks to pesticide applicators are being scrutinized more closely than ever before. Although the available data from epidemiological studies concerning pesticide use and certain associated disorders is practically non-existent, federal and state agencies are mandating this research be initiated.
Current worker exposure studies revolve around (1) a US-EPA grant to LPCAT on validating passive dosimeters, and (2) a NIOSH grant on "Risks to Farm Families" to OSU's Department of Preventive Medicine, with LPCAT as principle collaborator on the chemical exposure risk phase. Numerous grant inquiries are underway involving neurobehavioral responses of workers, neural network modelling of toxins and the PI's involvement in developing an American Chemical Society symposium on pesticide safety (in '97).
A pesticide cost-benefit assessment model (PBA) was delivered to all US State Pesticide Coordinators in 1995. Analyzing risks and benefits in a useful assessment/prediction scheme will require additional information on actual environmental hazards which remains a major effort at LPCAT. Pesticide policy issues (PI focus) are critical if pest control agents are to continue as effective tools of world agriculture.
The LPCAT Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) model (drop size, density and pest behavioral characteristics) provides fundamental inquiry capability for investigating the dose transfer efficiency of different AIs and formulations. This has been particularly successful with the new biological insecticides: Bt, bacculoviruses, etc.
The new LPCAT evaporation model combined with other physico-chemical measurements allows a greater level of inquiry into pesticide physico-chemical characteristics, and optimizing a toxin presentation to target pests.
This invention is the result of successful collaboration of experimentation and systems analysis. Drs. Chapple and Taylor developed a model of the dose transfer process, that is to say the process of placing an insecticide deposit where it will have a biological effect - usually death. This model has since been used by several scientists to investigate different aspects of pesticide delivery, but Taylor and Chapple used it to examine the limitations on the airborne part of the delivery phase. Their model and subsequent analysis resulted in new insights on spray delivery of pesticides through hydraulic nozzles. The invention of the double nozzle was a logical end point of the systems approach to investigating pesticide application technology. Click here for more information.
Dr. Roger A. Downer, Head LPCAT
The Ohio State University
Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
1680 Madison Avenue
Wooster, Ohio 44691
Phone: 330/263-3931
FAX: 330/263-3686