ROOT APPLIED SCIENCES INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.13
ROOT APPLIED SCIENCES INC — SBIR Phase II award from Department of Agriculture.
- Amount
- $649,655
- Agency
- Department of Agriculture
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase II
- Topic
- 8.13
- Solicitation
- USDA-NIFA-SBIR-009642
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- CA
- Period
- 2023-08-16 → 2025-08-31
Description
PROJECTSUMMARY Instructions: Thesummaryislimitedto250words.ThenamesandaffiliatedorganizationsofallProjectDirectors/PrincipalInvestigators(PD/PI)shouldbelistedinaddition tothetitleoftheproject.Thesummaryshouldbeaself-containedspecificdescriptionoftheactivitytobeundertakenandshouldfocuson:overallproject goal(s)andsupportingobjectives;planstoaccomplishprojectgoal(s);andrelevanceoftheprojecttothegoalsoftheprogram.Theimportanceofaconcise informativeProjectSummarycannotbeoveremphasized. Title:Developmentandoptimizationofanin-fieldautomatedsystemforco-detectionofairborne plantpathogensandpests. PD: PlacellaSarah Institution:RootAppliedSciences(RAS) RootAppliedSciences(RAS)hasdevelopedaninnovativesystemthatmonitorsplantpathogensin theair.BycombiningahighlyefficientairsamplerwithrobustDNA-baseddetectionassaysthe RASsystemalertsgrowerstotheriskofgrapevinepowderymildew(PM)basedonthe concentrationofairborneinoculum.Thisallowsgrapegrowerstotriggerfungicidespraysonly whennecessaryprotectingtheircropsmoreefficiently.Growerstypicallyrelyoncostly prophylacticfixed-intervalandcalendarfungicidespraystocontrolPMbutRAS'ssystemhas enabledthemtoreducetheoverallnumberoffungicidesusedby30-70%overtwoconsecutive years.IntheirPhaseIprojectRASdeterminedthespatialcoverageoftheirsamplerincommercial vineyardsandthefieldlimitationsoftheirDNA-baseddetectionassay.AspartofitsPhaseII projectRASaimstoimproveitstechnologytoenabletheco-detectionofadditionalpestsusinga fullyautomatedsystem.InitiallyRASwantstofacilitatetheco-detectionofPMandvinemealybug (VMB)themainvectorofleafroll-associatedvirus3(GRLaV-3).ToaccomplishthisRAShas threetechnicalobjectives:1)developanassayfordetectingairborneVMBjuveniles2)engineera field-deployablemicrofluidiccassettetoco-detectPMandVMBand3)evaluatetheperformanceof itsautomatedsystemtodetectPMandVMBinairsamplesunderfieldconditions.These innovationswillhelpRASrapidlyexpandintoothermarketsoutsidegrapevinesincreasingtheir totaladdressablemarket.