SBIR Phase I: Regulation of Moisture and Thermal Microenvironments to Improve Mycoherbicides

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*** 9661632 Bryant This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the unique combination of microencapsulation techniques and materials with biological herbicides (mycoherbicides) to offer a safe, host-specific, affordable alternative to chemical herbicides. The project will study ways to meet the critical environmental requirements of plant pathogenic fungi used as mycoherbicides and thus to make mycoherbicides practical and commercially viable for widespread agricultural use. A major limitation of mycoherbicides has been the need for fastidious moisture and temperature ranges in order for them to be effective in the field. This project will address the temperature and moisture requirements (both vital to the effectiveness of mycoherbicides) by extending (simulating) dew periods and regulating temperature on the plant surface. Novel and innovative encapsulation techniques will combine water and/or nutrient solutions with microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs)- developed by Triangle R&D on multiple SBIR programs from 1984 to 1996 - in a form that can he successfully applied in the field. A fungal pathogen/weed pathosystem will be selected as a model system and evaluated for compatibility of microencapsulated materials with the fungal pathogen and target weeds. The project will then design and fabricate water microcapsules to provide a range of moisture coverage periods, design and fabricate microPCMs to provide the optimum temperature range(s) and evaluate microencapsulated materials alone and in combinations to improve the weed control efficacy of the mycoherbicide. Many promising mycoherbicides have been abandoned because of their seeming incompatibility with environmental conditions in the field. If successful, the proposed work could significantly improve existing mycoherbicides, renew the development of previously abandoned mycoherbicides, and create broad applications in agriculture and environmental systems. This would lead the way to capturing a portion of the herbicide industry, which currently has annual sales in excess of 7 billion dollars. ***