At the primary facility
in San Luis Obispo, California, we maintain two independent
science laboratories, each focused on separate disciplines of
agricultural pest management. The entomology laboratory maintains
colonies of key coastal insect and arachnid pests for basic
biological studies and to use in bioassays with new and existing
compounds. In addition to these studies, the entomology lab
supports a comprehensive insecticide field testing program conducted
by field technicians working both on company managed farms and
with independent cooperating regional growers. The entomology
facility is fully equipped with microscopy, substrate application
and fumigation chambers, controlled temperature cabinets, greenhouses
and shade houses, and basic chemistry facilities capable of
supporting most any laboratory or field entomology study conducted.
Located across the compound from Entomology, the Plant Pathology
lab focuses on diagnostics of fungal, bacterial, and viral plant
pathogens. As with entomology, the lab also provides support
services for an extensive fungicide testing program on fruis
and vegetables along the humid coastal agricultural districts.
Of particular distinction, is the Pacific Ag Post Harvest Laboratory,
where commodity storage and processing studies are conducted
with fruits and vegetables. In the case of refrigerated storage
investigations and the study of control of decay organisms,
this laboratory can segregate post harvest segments to include
transportation, cold storage, supermarket display, and household
storage increments. Produce packing line products can also be
applied under precise conditions on a small scale packing line.
Because all facilities are within a few feet of the pathology
lab, identification of post harvest decay agents and experimental
evaluations are quickly made by trained staff within the same
facility under controlled conditions. These facilities have
been used extensively by manufacturers to test field-applied
fungicides for such traits as extension of post harvest shelf
lives of fruits and vegetables, determining the potential impact
of a fungicide to wine fermentation, studying the persistence
of pesticide residues through post harvest processing activities,
and competitive displacement and fungal decay species and population
shifts during post harvest storage from specific fungicide usage
in the field.
