[Pollinator] Request for Research Proposals - Please Distribute and Post
Ladadams at aol.com
Ladadams at aol.com
Fri Jan 31 13:58:44 PST 2014
Request for Proposals – January 2014
Pollinator Partnership – Corn Dust Research Consortium
2014 Research
Call for Research Proposals Related to
Reducing Honey Bee Exposure to Dust Emitted During Planting of Treated
Corn Seeds
Background
The Pollinator Partnership has formed a Corn Dust Research Consortium
(CDRC) to fund, oversee, and advise on two proposed research projects to
further our understanding of best management practices for mitigating seed
treatment exposure to honey bees during corn planting. The Pollinator
Partnership has issued CDRC invitations to stakeholders from crop protection, seed
production, farm equipment, corn growing, beekeeping, academic, governmental
and conservation organizations.
The first year of research is complete and the report has been released
(http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/CDRCfinalreport2013.pdf). For the second
year, the Corn Dust Research Consortium is seeking research proposals from
North American researchers to continue to address the two identified research
questions concerning honey bee’s exposure during planting to dust from seeds
treated with pesticides.
Research Priorities and Funding
We anticipate funding up to 4 proposals (from pooled resources of
$320,000) that address one or both of two initiatives: Project 1- Use by Honey Bees
of Flowering Resources In and Around Cornfields, and Project 2 - Efficacy
of Seed Lubricant Products.
The Consortium will allocate the funding between the two project questions
based on the proposals received. Proposals will be considered that
address either or both questions. Funds must be used within an eight-month
period (March 2014 to November 2014). Focused, targeted projects with a high
likelihood of providing tangible results that can be applied to best
management practices for mitigating seed treatment exposure to honey bees are
preferred. Proposals providing valuable extensions of previously funded
projects by CDRC or others will be considered. Proposals that involve
replication of or direct analysis of working field conditions and standard planting
equipment and procedures are preferred. The projects will be funded for one
year, with discussion of extensions to be considered in the fall of 2014.
Background and Specifics
The Corn Dust Research Consortium has identified two priority areas for
funding. Principal Investigators may apply to address either or both of the
proposed projects.
A number of ideas for reducing exposure to planter-emitted dust from
treated seeds have been proposed (please see Issue Overview on page 6). These
include:
1) development of seed coatings that reduce the amount of toxic dust
abraded from the seeds,
2) management of flowering plants in fields prior to planting and
management of drift during planting to reduce the likelihood that bees will
come in contact with seed dust deposits,
3) modification of planting equipment to either limit the amount of
dust released into the air or direct emitted dust toward the ground so that
the potential for off-site drift is reduced,
4) development and use of seed lubricants that reduce the amount of
dust abraded from treated seeds,
5) confining bees to hives on days when nearby fields are planted, and
6) using untreated seeds and managing pests in a different way.
Proposed Research Projects
While there may be a role for all of these mitigation approaches, an
immediate need for research on points 2 and 4 (in bold above) has been
identified.
Project 1: Use by honey bees of flowering resources in and around
cornfields during spring planting and how this behavior can be effectively managed
to reduce exposure to pesticide dust and residues.
In 2013, three separate research teams, funded by the CDRC, worked to
develop a greater understanding of the use by honey bees of flowering cover
crops and weeds in and around cornfields during spring planting season and how
this is influenced by vegetation management practices. The report of
their preliminary findings and provisional recommendations is found beginning
on page 16 at: http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/CDRCfinalreport2013.pdf
The ultimate goal for the CDRC is to develop recommendations for best
management practices that growers can follow in order to minimize exposure of
forager honey bees to seed dust while maintaining as much forage for honey
bees as possible. This may involve a trade-off of promoting presence of
these flowering plants at some times and locations and their removal via
herbicide applications at other times and locations.
The CDRC anticipates that the research methods will replicate methods used
in the first year’s research which include trapping pollen at sentinel
hives placed in landscapes dominated by cornfields to determine the relative
use by bees of different kinds of plants, direct observations of honey bee
visits to flowers in and around fields, and surveying corn growers and
fields to determine current vegetation management practices. Some existing and
potential practices, i.e. removal of flowering plants, may adversely affect
native bee communities, an issue not addressed in this RFP.
Project 2: Efficacy of Seed Lubricant Products
The second research project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new seed
lubricant product that has been developed by Bayer CropScience. The CDRC
is looking to reproduce initial work conducted at the University of Guelph
in 2013. The project proposes measuring deposition levels of pesticide dust
in and around fields when commercially available neonicotinoid-treated
corn seed products are planted using this new seed lubricant product in
comparison to standard lubricants (talc and graphite). Such measurements should
be made with a range of negative pressure pneumatic planter types in
several corn-growing regions (e.g., several major corn-growing states or
provinces).
As the time frame of this study is short and the planting season is
rapidly approaching, BCS or Syngenta field personnel can aid in locating and
signing up cooperating corn growers; however, to the extent practicable,
Principal Investigators are encouraged to use independently-solicited contacts.
BCS will provide the new seed lubricant product as well as technical support
for its use free of charge to study personnel.
Each cooperating grower would plant two fields with the same planter, seed
type and seed treatment. On one field the standard lubricant (talc and/or
graphite) for the planter type would be used, while the new BCS lubricant
product would be used on the other field. Lubricants should be added to
and mixed with the pesticide-treated seeds in the planter hopper per label
directions and after mixing, a sample of the seeds should be collected for
possible later laboratory analysis of dust and active ingredient using a
Heubach dustmeter. Study personnel will establish study locations and sampling
devices prior to planting and measure the amount of pesticide active
ingredient in dust deposited at sampling stations in and around the field.
Stations should be located within and at prescribed distances downwind from each
test field.
At each station, samples should be collected at various heights above
ground. The order in which the two lubricant types are used and the fields to
which they are applied should be determined randomly, and the pneumatic
system of the planter should be cleaned of any leftover lubricant powder and
seed debris before each of the fields is planted.
Collected samples will be analyzed to determine the amount of active
ingredient deposited on sampling devices per unit area (i.e., the measurement
needs to be able to be converted to µg a.i./m2). Evaluations of each planter
and seed treatment type should be replicated at least three times in each
region studied. Principal Investigators will be encouraged to confer with
the 2013 PI and with the CDRC to discuss study design elements that have
proven successful in previous studies.
Geographic Scope
The intent is to evaluate factors that can reduce honey bee exposure to
corn seed dust in the US Midwest and all North American corn production areas
and in the main corn growing areas of Canada. Ideally, field
investigations should be replicated in multiple locations in these regions.
Quality Assurance
The research does not need to be conducted in strict compliance with Good
Laboratory Practice requirements, but should be conducted in accordance
with the spirit of GLP requirements which include preparation of a written
study protocol and standard operating procedures for data collection prior to
study initiation, recording and maintenance of raw data, and documentation
of any deviations from the protocol or SOPs that occurred.
The goal is to produce peer-reviewed published papers to advance the
understanding of the issue broadly and transparently. We encourage budgets to
provide for photographic/videographic capture of the study as it is being
conducted as a means to demonstrate the methods and to communicate results
to wide-ranging audiences, from practical advice for producers and
beekeepers, to economic analysis for agribusiness, to reproducible science for the
research community, and to general interest for the broader public.
Research Constraints and Reporting
So that results are representative of real-world corn planting scenarios,
field work should be conducted mainly during the spring corn planting
season (April-May). In addition to conclusions and analysis, a copy of original
datasets will be made available for researchers to use in the future.
Reports from both projects are needed by end of November 2014 in order to be
incorporated into recommendations communicated to beekeepers and corn growers
for the 2015 planting season. Such recommendations may need to be
provisional pending additional research during the 2014 and 2015 planting seasons.
Project Oversight
The Corn Dust Research Consortium has been formed to review proposals and
oversee the project execution, including review and comment on study
protocols, draft reports and presentation materials prior to their execution and
public release. Final decisions on technical interpretation of the study
findings and content of study reports, publications and presentations will
be made by study personnel; however, it is important for the CDRC to confer
with the PI and to examine and understand all processes and results. The
role of the Corn Dust Research Consortium on these matters will be advisory
only. The Corn Dust Research Consortium intends to include at least one
representative from each primary sponsoring organization (industry,
beekeeping, academia, government, and conservation). The CDRC will also seek
input from regulatory agencies, including the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).
Proposal Requirements
1) Cover page including:
a. Project or projects the proposal will address (Project 1, Project
2 or both.)
b. Contact information including e-mail(s), physical mailing address,
and telephone number(s).
2) A 4-page (maximum) project description for each project proposal
being submitted with sufficient background and description of methods to
ascertain the importance and feasibility of the studies. Please use Arial,
12-pt font, single spaced, with page numbers. References are not included in
this page limit. If the proposal combines the two projects, the limit would
be 8 pages.
3) Detailed budget that includes funds for the Principal Investigator
and a research timeline by month (approximately March 2014 to November
2014).
4) 2-page CV of the Principal Investigator(s).
5) Please include funding details if the proposal is under
consideration by other funding organizations.
Submission
E-mail your proposal packet as a single PDF file to Jennifer Tsang
(_jt at pollinator.org_ (mailto:jt at pollinator.org) ) by 3PM PDT on Monday, March 3,
2014.
Please identify the e-mail subject line and the PDF attachment using “
Project (1 and/or 2), PI Last Name, First Name.”
Funding Decisions
The proposals will be evaluated by members of the Corn Dust Research
Consortium Advisory panel, and funding decisions will be made by Friday, March
14, 2014.
Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Pollinator Partnership
423 Washington St. 5th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94111
T: 415.362.1137
F: 415.362.0176
Follow up on _Twitter_ (http://twitter.com/#!/Pollinators) and _Facebook_
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pollinator-Partnership/48680445464) !
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