Russell IPM Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Glyndwr University

Pests cost farmers a huge amount of money by destroying crops, these pests are normally kept at bay by pesticides but due to European legislation there is a need to reduce the volume of chemicals used. There are a number of different routes open to companies but Russell IPM is currently working with the Industrial Biopolymer Knowledge Transfer Centre at Glyndwr University in Wrexham on a novel pheromone release technology.

Russell IPM is taking advantage of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme which was introduced by the technology strategy board and 19 other partner organisations. It is a partnership between a company, an academic institute and a recent graduate. The graduate is appointed to work on a specific project and is supervised jointly by both academic and company personnel. The main advantage of this scheme is that the company can take advantage of the expertise of the partner academic institution.

The project will detail controlled release technology of pheromones. There is an increasing problem with species developing resistance to traditional pesticides, so novel pheromone release technologies are in development to try and combat this. There are many advantages to using pheromone control rather than traditional pesticides; phenomenal treatments are not toxic to humans and other animals, they can be used safely in the house around children and pets, small boxes with sticky substances within are used to trap insects for disposal. They are not destructive like conventional pesticides. Pheromones also allow the use of pheromone traps to determine which insects are causing problems. 

The development of controlled release technologies is of commercial importance as the more targeted applications will prove to be more cost effective despite the pheromones costing slightly more than traditional pesticides. Protocols will be developed to determine the ability of the formulations to be sprayed using a pressurised gun, their adherence onto a surface and the rate of release of the pheromones.

The KTP with Glyndwr University will cover the complete process of a new formulation, from a literature survey and investigation of potential markets to development of field trials, patents and quality control protocols. The project will cover investigation into current technologies and involve the development of both a sprayable liquid and a gel formulation as an oil-in-water emulsion. These emulsions will contain surfactant polymeric emulsifiers and natural gum rheology modifiers. The rheological properties of the formulation will be extensively tested to assess its potential applications as a gel or spray.

The shelf life of the formulations will be established by determining the droplet size and the rheological and creaming properties of the emulsions. The droplet size and morphology can be accurately determined using the flow particle image analysis apparatus at Glyndwr University; it gives high resolution automated analysis of particle size and shape in a reproducible, repeatable and routine manner within a range of 1μm to 300μm.

It is anticipated that the results will be presented at relevant national and international conferences and will be published in the trade and scientific literature subject to patenting issues.