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AARC 



Alternative Agricultural Research & Commercialization Center 



Non-toxic, Biodegradable 

 Pesticide Packaging 



Encapsulating pesticides in a non-toxic 

 coating generates many benefits — 

 such as protecting workers who apply 

 the pesticides, protecting the environment, 

 protecting pesticides from deterioration, and 

 reducing the amount of pesticide needed, 

 since it all reaches its intended target. 



With such benefits in mind, 

 researchers from the U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture, universities and private industry 

 have been working together to develop effi- 

 cient encapsulation systems. One of the 

 most promising new technologies has come 

 from the joint efforts of USDA's Agricultural 

 Research Service and the Biotechnology 

 Research and Development Corporation 

 (BRDC), an Illinois company specializing 

 in high-risk agricultural biotechnology 

 research. 



A key BRDC goal in the pesticides area 

 is to fine-tune the use of corn starch as an 

 encapsulation agent for both crop and bve- 

 stock pest-control applications. The major 

 challenge has been the need to dry and grind 

 the starch/pesticide mi.\ture to form gran- 

 ules or powders. Now, new techniques 

 developed jointly by BRDC and the 

 Agricultural Research Service eliminate the 

 drying and grinding steps by creating self- 

 forming granules. The result is an active 

 pesticide — either chemical or biological — 

 entrapped witliin a starch or flour matrix 

 formed by the granule. The granule protects 

 the active ingredient from deterioration due to 

 handling or storage and provides for con- 

 trolled release when the pesticide is applied. 

 An additional advantage of the starch-coated 

 product is that it adheres naturally to plant 

 surfaces, making it more target specific and 

 less likely to move into the soil or water when 

 applied to a crop. 



BRDC and four of its shareholder companies — American Cyananiid, Dow Chemical. ECOGEN and 

 Pitman-Moore — are investing S475,000 in a new program designed to commercialize the encapsulation 

 process. The A.ltcrnative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Center, a branch of the U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, is investing a repayable S500.000 to support this commercialization efibrt. Projec- 

 tions show that successful commercialization could create a market for 30 miUion bushels of corn per year. 



iDuslraiKyi by Ed Cou/ruir 



Biotechnology Research & Development Corp., IL 



Sponsor's Contact: J. Michael Gould, (309) 688-1 1 88 

 Raw Material: Corn 



Product: Starch-Encapsulated Pest Control 



Formulations 



AARC: $500,000 



Cooperators Contributions (est.): $500,000 



USOA-AARC CENTER • 12th & C St. S.W. • Washington, DC 20250 

 Telephone: (202) 401-4860 • Fax: (202) 401-6068 



Pnnied on recycled pjper ustng ^oytyeantdsed ink 



