RIDGE QUEST INC. — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.13

Description

Many factors acting together, including concerns about worker safety, food safety, pesticide resistance and new regulations governing pesticides, have heightened grower awareness to reduce insecticide inputs and increase reliance on biopesticides. Foremost among the forces leading to change is the need to reduce input costs in order to maintain economic viability. Mating disruption is among the most effective biopesticides for managing various lepidopteran fruit crop pests including Obliquebanded Leafroller. Although this tactic has proven to be a viable alternative to insecticides for some key pests, it is yet to be embraced as an economically viable alternative to insecticides in many fruit production regions. A major impediment to widespread adoption of disruption technologies are the number of devices needed, timing, physical application of the product, and the high product and application costs.