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Hundreds
of thousands of pounds of fumigant products are used world wide every
year to assure stored grains and imported goods are free of devastating
insect pests. Every major port of entry has active privately operated
fumigation facilities that are mandated by USDA inspectors that issue
fumigation directives for a multitude of shipping containers carrying
everything from electronic products to furniture and produce. All items
packaged with wood products are susceptible to wood boring insects,
and produce is doubly inspected, for not only the wood pallets upon
which they are stacked, but also the commodity itself as host material
for fruit flies, beetles and related crop pests. All of this imported
material must be fumigated by professional fumigators before entry into
the United States and with the loss of methyl bromide, the list of available
replacement products is short and non-inclusive of all uses. This has
created opportunities for small and medium sized manufacturers of specialty
products to develop replacement products that can effectively compete
in the world market and offer ports of entry cost effective and environmentally
sound alternatives to methyl bromide. Pacific Ag Research has the facilities,
substrates, permits, and test species to develop these alternative products
for the manufacturer wishing to pursue this market. In addition, we
have excellent business and personal contacts in the industry to conduct
field trials at ports of entry for scale up tests following successful
bioassays and small scale trails in the laboratory. In short, there
is great potential and need in the industry for products in the market
with high levels of efficacy and low risk potential to users. We can
also assist in familiarization with the market and the design of protocols
for product development and conduct of trials for products in either
early or later stages development.