SBIR Phase I: Budbreak Delay Gel Technology for Frost Management and Mechanization of Vineyards

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过推迟春季发芽的时间来减少霜冻对作物的损害，从而为葡萄种植者创造价值。提出的创新将降低霜冻管理成本，减少产量损失，提高质量。推迟萌芽也将通过增加最佳枝条去除的操作窗口来帮助劳动管理。葡萄是美国价值最高的水果作物，也是全球第六大作物。葡萄产量受天气的影响很大，霜冻是最主要的天气危害之一。葡萄市场的成功为许多其他水果作物的推广打开了大门。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将使葡萄种植者减少霜冻危害，并最大限度地利用机械化资源。这一方法综合了许多研究，包括：影响芽断裂内源调节的生物物理和生化因素，抗寒性，以及聚合物科学。初步研究表明，它有能力抵抗潮湿条件，并能在10至14天内调节花蕾破损。如果该项目的目标得以实现，该技术将在当前机械化和现有劳动力限制的情况下，显著提高农民应对当前和未来春季霜冻威胁的能力，并将成为应对当前和新出现的气候变化挑战的工具持续创新的基础。该项目将通过与华盛顿和伊利诺伊州的合作伙伴进行一系列现场应用来证明喷雾的可行性。此外，该项目将启动数据分析研究，通过测试用于农场微气候数据采集的传感器并获得关键数据源，来指导萌芽延迟技术的应用时机。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to create value for grape farmers by reducing crop damage from frost by delaying the time when the buds break in spring. The innovation proposed will reduce the costs of frost management, decrease yield loss, and improve quality. Delaying bud break will also assist in labor management by increasing the operating window for optimal shoot removal. Grapes are the highest value fruit crop in the U.S. and the sixth largest crop globally. Grape production is highly influenced by the weather, with frost damage among the top weather hazards. Success in the grape market opens the door to deployment with many other fruit crops.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will allow grape growers to reduce frost damage and maximize resources for mechanization. This approach integrates many studies, including: biophysical and biochemical factors influencing the endogenous regulation of bud break, resistance to cold injury, and polymer sciences. Preliminary studies indicate the ability to resist wet conditions and regulate bud break by 10 to 14 days. If the aims of this project are achieved, the technology will contribute significantly to farmers’ abilities to cope with present and future threats of spring frost, with current mechanization and available labor limitations, and will be the foundation for continued innovation in tools that address current and emerging challenges of climate change. The project will demonstrate the feasibility of the spray through a series of in situ applications with partners in Washington and Illinois. In addition, the project will launch data analytics studies to guide the application timing of bud break delay technology by testing sensors for farm microclimate data acquisition and gaining access to critical data sources.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.