Weed/Pest Control Research and Development
The Propane Education & Research Council actively funds programs to research low-cost, low polluting uses of propane gas in agriculture. Two current research projects are described below:
LP Gas for Weed, Nematode and Pathogen Control in Agriculture Project
The Alternative Fuels Research & Education Division (AFRED) of the Railroad Commission of Texas, Texas A&M University, Mississippi State University, and the University of Florida jointly conduct this project. These are its objectives:
- Developing and testing new equipment that uses propane gas to control weeds, pests and soil-borne pathogens in cotton, vegetables and other crops
- Improving the effectiveness of propane controls
- Verifying the efficiency and cost of new technology in applications in Texas, Mississippi, and Florida
Phases 1 and 2 of the project have been completed. The third phase will include these activities:
- Further refinement of burner hardware
- Extending field trials on cotton to sites in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and New Mexico
- Beginning field trials on soybeans in Mississippi and on organic vegetables in California
- Further evaluating the efficacy and cost of using propane to control pathogens in broiler houses through the University of Arkansas Poultry Science Center
- Testing the feasibility of using propane to control insects and pathogens in cattle feed lots
Thermal Defoliation of Cotton
The Propane Education & Research Council is funding a project by the Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory (SWCGRL) to field test a propane thermal defoliation device. Defoliation terminates cotton plant growth, controls harvest timing, and improves fiber quality.
- A defoliation apparatus using air heated by a propane burner was developed by SWCGRL and tested in New Mexico in 2001. It was shown to be effective at terminating both the cotton plant and pests like the aphid and silver leaf whitefly.
- The project includes automating the propane burner temperature control, growing test plots and evaluating results through seed and fiber analysis.
- A proposed 2002 trial will test this apparatus in an extra long staple variety (Pima) and provide additional evidence of its effectiveness in a second crop year of upland cotton.
