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EPA Open Comment Period for Neonicotinoid Insecticides

By Bryan Jensen
 
Most are aware that EPA is going through a registration review for the neonicotinoid (IRAC 4A) insecticides. The majority of the neonicotinoid use in Wisconsin’s field crop’s is for several formulations of seed treatments in corn, soybean and wheat. Although some labels are available as foliar applications in soybean.
 
The ecological risk assessment open comment period ends February 20, 2018. Comments can be made online at the EPA website. If you move around within the website you will notice that comments can be made for each of five insecticides (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, and acetamiprid). However, at this time, EPA is requesting comments on thiamethoxam use in several crops, however Wisconsin’s focus would be for uses on corn, soybean and wheat.
 

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker


Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.