Project Grant 20223353037408

PROBLEM AND MARKET OPPORTUNITY HERBICIDE DRIFT IS THE OFF-TARGET MOVEMENT OF HERBICIDES FROM THE SITE OF APPLICATION. DRIFT DAMAGES SENSITIVE CROPS, SUCH AS SOYBEANS, COTTON, TOMATOES, ETC., AND CAUSES FARMERS TO INCUR FINANCIAL LOSSES, RANGING FROM HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TO MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. FOR INSTANCE, MILLIONS OF ACRES OF SOYBEANS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN THE PAST FEW YEARS DUE TO DRIFT OF DICAMBA, AN EFFECTIVE BUT HIGHLY VOLATILE HERBICIDE. VOLATILE HERBICIDE CHEMISTRIES AND NON-ECO-FRIENDLY SYNTHETIC ADJUVANTS CALL FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING BOTH PARTICLE AND VAPOR DRIFT OF HERBICIDES UNDER A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. CELLUDOT, LLC ADDRESSES THIS PROBLEM WITH A NOVEL BIOPOLYMER ADJUVANT TECHNOLOGY THAT KEEPS HERBICIDES AT THE SITE OF THEIR INTENDED USE. GROWING DEMAND OF AGRICULTURAL ADJUVANTS, A $3.1 BILLION MARKET, COMBINED WITH AN URGENT NEED FOR A SOLUTION THAT LETS FARMERS CONTINUE USING DICAMBA, MAKES IT AN OPPORTUNE TIME FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF AN EPA-COMPLIANT AND ECO-FRIENDLY VAPOR DRIFT REDUCING TECHNOLOGY.PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND R & D PLAN THIS SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PHASE I PROJECT AIMS TO DEMONSTRATE PROOF-OF-CONCEPT OF USING NANOCELLULOSE-BASED ADJUVANTS (NAS) AS EFFECTIVE COMBINED DRIFT REDUCING AGENTS (DRA) AND VOLATILITY REDUCING AGENTS (VRA) TO PREVENT THE FORMATION OF EASILY WINDBORNE DROPLETS AND TO REDUCE THE VOLATILITY OF HERBICIDES, RESPECTIVELY, WHILE MAINTAINING EFFICACY AND PLANTS' INTAKE. THE PROJECT SETS THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES TO ACCOMPLISH OUR R & D PLAN: 1) DETERMINE VOLATILIZATION RATES OF NAS WHEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH DICAMBA, BY TESTING VAPOR PRESSURE OF THE FORMULATION IN THE TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 75-120 °F, 2) TEST DIFFERENT PARAMETERS SUCH AS APPLICATION PRESSURE AND NOZZLE TYPE, UNDER GREENHOUSE CONDITIONS TO MINIMIZE SPRAY DRIFT AND MAXIMIZE EFFICACY BY BALANCING DROPLET SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND COVERAGE, 3) EVALUATE THE RESPONSE OF A MODEL WEED SPECIES (E.G., KOCHIA) VIS-À-VIS EFFICACY OF NA FORMULATIONS, AND 4) ASSESS VOLATILITY VIA POST APPLICATION INJURY ON NON-GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) SOYBEAN, AS CROP MODEL, VIA LOW TUNNEL FIELD TRIALS.ANTICIPATED RESULTS AND POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS THROUGH PHASE I RESEARCH, WE ANTICIPATE VALIDATING OUR NA AS A DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT WITH COMBINED DIRFT REDUCING AGENT (DRA) AND VOLATILITY REDUCING AGENT (VRA) CAPABILITIES, REDUCING DRIFT OF COMMERCIAL DICAMBA WHILE MAINTAINING HERBICIDAL ACTIVITY AND IMPROVING FORMULATION COVERAGE WITH AN OVERALL COST COMPARABLE TO THAT OF EXISTING ADJUVANTS. WHEN PROVEN SUCCESSFUL, THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BENEFIT ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING FARMERS AND AGROCHEMICAL COMPANIES, AND WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT SOCIOECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. NA WILL ENABLE FARMERS GROWING GM CROPS, TO CONTINUE USING DICAMBA WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HERBICIDE DRIFTING TO NEIGHBORING FARMS AND DAMAGING NON-GM OR ANY SENSITIVE CROPS AND LANDSCAPES, THUS RESTORING, AND MAINTAINING THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE FARMING COMMUNITY AND BOOSTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY. IN ADDITION, THIS TECHNOLOGY COULD BE ADOPTED BY SMALL TO LARGER AGROCHEMICAL COMPANIES AND ADJUVANT MANUFACTURERS, CURRENTLY FACING PRODUCT BANS AND RESTRICTIONS, TO ABIDE BY EPA RULES.