Source: MICHIGAN STATE UNIV submitted to
TRUNK INJECTION: A DISCRIMINATING DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR TREE FRUIT IPM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1000451
Grant No.
2013-34381-21309
Project No.
MICL07748
Proposal No.
2013-03734
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
MX
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2013
Project End Date
Feb 29, 2016
Grant Year
2013
Project Director
Wise, J.
Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
Performing Department
Department of Entomology
Non Technical Summary
A paradigm shift is desperately needed for pesticide delivery in fruit cropping systems. Studies show that the lingering 20th Century pesticide delivery methods (ie; airblast sprayers) are highly inefficient, with as little as 50% of the pesticide reaching the target crop. As regulatory scrutiny on water quality, carbon abatement and non-target drift increases, and the high cost of pesticides exacerbates the penalty of wasting active ingredient, there is a need for creative alternatives. We will investigate trunk injection as an alternative delivery system to control insect and disease pests of apples. We will test a selection of reduced-risk insecticides and fungicides that are currently labeled for pome fruits, and have a track record of excellent performance on key apple pests. Those compounds with the most promising results will be integrated into on-farm demonstration trials, and a series of workshops will present the performance, economics, and logistics of integrating trunk injection delivery systems into commercial apple production. We will also initiate clearance requests with the USDA IR-4 Project, which will lead to new registrations for U.S. tree fruit producers.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
70%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
21611101130100%
Knowledge Area
216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1110 - Apple;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
Objectives: 1. Test optimized material combinations for season-long management of key pests. 2. Test trunk injection programs in newly established non-bearing apple trees. 3. Test trunk injection of insecticides for control of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. 4. Test trunk injection for control of phytophageous mite pests of apples. 5. Initiate IR-4 Field Residue trials to label selected compounds for trunk injection application. 6. Conduct economic analysis of trunk injection techniques and partial budget comparisons to ground sprayer-based production. 7. Demonstrate and facilitate the most promising trunk injection options for apple IPM.
Project Methods
3. Test optimized material combinations for season-long management of key pests. Field studies will be initiated in semi-dwarf apples at the Michigan State University Trevor Nichols Research Center in Fennville, MI, to test trunk injection of optimized material combinations for season-long management of key disease and insect pests of apples. The program selections will be informed by preliminary research data, with the goal of providing commercial level crop protection, while addressing resistance management, pollinator safety and minimizing overall pesticide load in the system. Insect control will target minimum rates and combinations for season long control of obliquebanded leafroller, spotted tentiform leafminer, potato leafhopper, rosy apple aphid, Oriental fruit moth, apple maggot, codling moth and plum curculio in apples. Trunk injections will be made at the 'petal fall' stage and season-long plant protection will be measured by conducting a series of field evaluations for the incidence of these pests and levels of injury to the fruit and foliage, methods described by Wise et al. (2009). Statistical comparisons will be made using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Disease control will target minimum rates/timings for season long control of apple scab and secondary apple diseases. Our research to date on apple scab supports further testing of two materials, formulated potassium salts of phosphorous acid, and Inspire super but inclusion of "winners" from our 2013 research (PMAP) will be considered. Apple scab severity will be evaluated on leaves and fruit, with foliar evaluations at four time intervals, and fruit will be evaluated at harvest. Spur and terminal scab, and fruit evaluations will be performed by methods described by Sundin et al. (2010). Field evaluations for the incidence of powdery mildew will also be taken with methods described by Jones and Sutton (1996). 4. Test trunk injection programs in non-bearing newly establish apple trees Targeting non-bearing apple trees presents a more immediate opportunity for implementing trunk injection, because it doesn't require review of dietary risk elements in the EPA registration process. Field studies will be initiated on newly established semi-dwarf nursery trees at the MSU TNRC in Fennville, MI, to test trunk injection for the control of disease and insect pests of non-bearing apples. The program selections (rates, timings, and combinations) will be informed by preliminary research data and results of the 2013 research, with the goal of achieving 2-3 years of pest control with a single injection on non-bearing trees. Season-long field evaluations will be conducted on injected trees for obliquebanded leafroller, spotted tentiform leafminer, potato leafhopper, rosy apple aphid, green apple aphid, Oriental fruit moth for the incidence of these pests and levels of injury to the foliage, following methods described by Wise et al. (2009). 5. Test trunk injection if insecticides for control of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. In year 1, field-based bioassays will be conducted on BMSB nymphs and adults to determine if trunk injection is a superior delivery system for insecticides targeting this key pest. Bioassays will follow methods described in Wise et al. (2006, 2007), with each apple field sample pruned to have five fruit and/or five leaves and placed in water-soaked OASIS® floral foam in clear plastic 946 ml containers with lids. The numbers of living and dead insects will be recorded after 96 hr of exposure. Statistical comparisons will be made using analysis of variance (ANOVA). 6. Test trunk injection for control of phytophageous mite pests of apples. In year 2 the active ingredients (AI), abamectin, spirotetramat, and azadirachtin will be tested, by injecting rates (.2 g AI per tree) of formulated product mixes, using the Viper air/hydraulic micro-injection system. Field evaluations of the European red mite and two-spotted spider mite will follow methods described in Wise et al. (2010), by picking 50 randomly selected leaves from each replicate tree every two weeks during the growing season. Motiles and eggs will be removed with a mite-brushing machine and counted under a stereo microscope. The number of mites per leaf will be recorded. Statistical comparisons will be made using analysis of variance (ANOVA). 7. Initiate IR-4 Field Residue trials to label selected compounds for trunk injection. Successful trial compounds from year 1 (2014) will be entered for evaluation by IR-4, beginning with submitting clearance requests for each promising chemistry, then prioritization at the annual IR-4 Food Use Workshop. For those compounds that an A-priority is received, then negotiations with EPA will determine what bridging data are necessary for attaining sufficient Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) field residue data for EPA evaluation, registration and eventual new labeled uses for tree fruit producers. 8. Conduct economic analysis of trunk injection techniques and partial budget comparisons to ground sprayer-based production. Partial budgeting analysis will compare costs of trunk injection and conventional practices under varying application intervals and rates, with consideration of variation in produce quality. Budget comparisons will be made between trunk injection techniques and to conventional sprayer-based production of apples. Current costs for labor, fuel, pesticides, and equipment maintenance will be incorporated into budget spreadsheets in order to provide relevant economic information to tree fruit growers. 9. Demonstrate and facilitate the most promising trunk injection options for apple IPM. In year 2 we will set-up demonstration plots on university research farms and commercial apple orchards with the best performing trunk injection compounds, timings and injection technologies. This will allow grower-collaborators to get first-hand experience with the performance of this technology. The demonstration orchard sizes and cultivars selected will vary according to bearing or non-bearing status, and whether the site is at the university research farm or commercial orchard. Demonstrations of this technology will allow apple growers to observe and compare trunk injected apple trees to conventionally ground sprayed plots. Four apple demonstration sites will be selected in Michigan. Demonstration sites will also be used to host extension meetings where local fruit growers can receive an update on what has been learned about this technology and observe direct results in the demonstration trial. We will also work with MSU Extension to produce an online 'how-to' video for trunk injection procedures in apples, that will be posted as a MSU Info-Video. This video will be posted on eXtension network's Apple Regional Resources section, extending our reach to all apple regions. Trunk injection workshops. Educational workshops will be held in year 2 to provide a series of in-depth lectures on the performance characteristics of reduced-risk pesticides, trunk injection delivery systems, economics of adopting the technology, and the performance results of the research on disease and insect control in apples. A hands-on demonstration will then be conducted on trees, providing an up-close venue for questions and discussion. These data will also be presented at various tree fruit industry venues such as the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo, and Michigan Tree Fruit IPM School.

Progress 09/01/13 to 02/29/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Apple farmers, IPM scouts, EPA officials Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided training and professional development for one graduate student, several part-time undergraduate workers, and a technician. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Amy Irish-Brown, our MSU Extension collaborator on this project, hosted a trunk injection hands-on workshop on June 17, 2015 at the farmer demonstration plots we set-up on the Grand Rapids Ridge apple growing location, for which there were over 50 participants. We were also invited to make a presentation on July 29, 2015 for the Michigan IPM Alliance / EPA Decision-Maker's Tour, where we demonstrated and discussed the promise of trunk injection at our demo plot at Robinette's Orchard in Grand Rapids, MI. Results from this trunk injection project were also shared in a presentation titled "Optimizing the Delivery of Crop Protection Materials for Apple IPM" at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo, Grand Rapids, MI December 9, 2014. We also shared results from the 2014 field season at the annual TNRC Field Day on September 29, 2015. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our study successfully established the first 'proof of concept' for the use of trunk injection technology for controlling disease and insect pests of US apples. We demonstrated a range of insecticide and fungicide compounds that can be delivered via trunk injection for protection of apple trees. The compound rate studies showed that reduced rates of pesticides can be used with trunk injection to provide season-long, and in some cases multiple seasons of pest control. This and the preliminary economic analysis provide good evidence of reducing overall costs of apple pest management in the future. The residue analysis demonstrates that trunk injection delivery is safe for farmers, farm workers and consumers, while reducing pesticide drift, and worker exposure. These data resulted in efforts initiated within the IR-4 project to label selected compounds for trunk injection application. We submitted IR-4 Performance Clearance Requests (PCRs) for imidacloprid, emamectin benzoate and phosphorous acid for future prioritization at the IR-4 Food Use Workshop (FUW).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: A?imovi?, S.G., VanWoerkom, A.H., Garavaglia, T., Vandervoort, C., Sundin G.W., Wise, J.C., 2016. Seasonal and Cross-Seasonal Timing of Fungicide Trunk Injections in Apple Trees to Optimize Management of Apple Scab. Plant Disease. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-15-1061-RE


Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Apple farmers, IPM scouts, EPA officials Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided training and professional development for one graduate student, several part-time undergraduate workers, and a technician. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Amy Irish-Brown, our MSU Extension collaborator on this project, hosted a trunk injection hands-on workshop on June 17, 2015 at the farmer demonstration plots we set-up on the Grand Rapids Ridge apple growing location, for which there were over 50 participants. We were also invited to make a presentation on July 29, 2015 for the Michigan IPM Alliance / EPA Decision-Maker's Tour, where we demonstrated and discussed the promise of trunk injection at our demo plot at Robinette's Orchard in Grand Rapids, MI. Results from this trunk injection project were also shared in a presentation titled "Optimizing the Delivery of Crop Protection Materials for Apple IPM" at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo, Grand Rapids, MI December 9, 2014. We also shared results from the 2014 field season at the annual TNRC Field Day on September 29, 2015. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting session we will analyze residue samples from the 2015 field season, and conduct statistical analysis on evaluation data. We will also finalyzeeconomic analysis to compare trunk injection to ground-sprayer methods for pest management in commercial apple production.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our study successfully established the first 'proof of concept' for the use of trunk injection technology for controlling disease and insect pests of US apples. We demonstrated a range of insecticide and fungicide compounds that can be delivered via trunk injection for protection of apple trees. The compound rate studies showed that reduced rates of pesticides can be used with trunk injection to provide season-long, and in some cases multiple seasons of pest control. This and the preliminary economic analysis provide good evidence of reducing overall costs of apple pest management in the future. The residue analysis demonstrates that trunk injection delivery is safe for farmers, farm workers and consumers, while reducing pesticide drift, and worker exposure. These data resulted in efforts initiated within the IR-4 project to label selected compounds for trunk injection application. We submitted IR-4 Performance Clearance Requests (PCRs) for imidacloprid, emamectin benzoate and phosphorous acid for future prioritization at the IR-4 Food Use Workshop (FUW). Even though these did not achieve "A" priority at the 2014 FUW, the PI's had substantive discussions with IR-4 personnel and EPA about the positive prospects of future registration and labeled uses for apple production.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: S. G. Acimovic, Q. Zeng, G. C. McGhee, G. W. Sundin, J. C. Wise (2015) Control of fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) on apple trees with trunk-injected plant resistance inducers and antibiotics and assessment of induction of pathogenesis-related protein genes Frontiers in Plant Science 6:16, DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00016.


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Apple farmers, IPM scouts, extension educators Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided training and professional development for one graduate student, several part-time undergraduate workers, and a technician. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We conducted a hands-on workshop and lecture on the topic of trunk injection in apples at the MSU Fruit IPM School (Title: Trunk Injection Delivery Systems for Tree Fruit Pest Management, Feb 13, 2013, Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids), for which there were over 50 participants attending the educational session. Results from this trunk injection project were also shared in a presentation titled “Optimizing the Delivery of Crop Protection Materials for Apple IPM” at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo, Grand Rapids, MI December 10, 2013. We shared results from the 2014 field season at the annual TNRC Field Day on September 30, 2014. We achieved additional publicity in the form of magazine articles about trunk injection, targeting fruit growers, published in the Michigan Apple newsletter (September 2013), and a front page article in the Michigan Farmer magazine (February 2013) describing the ‘basis for’ and ‘potential benefits of’ trunk injection in tree fruit crops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Residue analysis and statistical analysis will be conducted on the 2014 field season samples and data. Further economic analysis will also be conducted with the expanded data-set.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our study successfully established the first ‘proof of concept’ for the use of trunk injection technology for controlling disease and insect pests of US apples. We demonstrated a range of insecticide and fungicide compounds that can be delivered via trunk injection for protection of apple trees. The compound rate studies showed that reduced rates of pesticides can be used with trunk injection to provide season-long, and in some cases multiple seasons of pest control. This and the preliminary economic analysis provide good evidence of reducing overall costs of apple pest management in the future. The residue analysis clearly demonstrates the trunk injection delivery is safe for farmers, farm workers and consumers, while reducing pesticide drift, worker exposure and risks to the environment. These data resulted in efforts initiated within the IR-4 project to label selected compounds for trunk injection application. We submitted IR-4 Performance Clearance Requests (PCRs) for imidacloprid, emamectin benzoate and phosphorous acid for future prioritization at the IR-4 Food Use Workshop (FUW). Even though these did not achieve “A” priority at the 2014 FUW, the PI’s had substantive discussions with IR-4 personnel and EPA about the positive prospects of future registration and labeled uses for apple production.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Wise, J.C., A. H. VanWoerkom, S. G. Acimovic, G.W. Sundin, B. M. Cregg, and C. Vandervoort. 2014. Trunk Injection: A Discriminating Delivering System for Horticulture Crop IPM. Entomol Ornithol Herpetol 3: 126. doi:10.4172/2161-0983.1000126.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: VanWoerkom, A.H., S. G. Acimovic, G.W. Sundin, B. M. Cregg, D. Mota-Sanchez, C. Vandervoort and J. C. Wise. 2014. Trunk Injection: An Alternative Technique for Pesticide Delivery of Tree Fruits. J. of Crop Prot. doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2014.05.017.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Acimovic, S.G., VanWoerkom, A.H., Reeb, P.D., Vandervoort, C., Garavaglia, T., Cregg, B.M., Wise, J.C., 2014. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Trunk-injected Imidacloprid in Apple Tree Canopy. Pest Manag. Sci. (online). doi: 10.1002/ps.3747.