FIRE ANT APPLIED RESEARCH PROGRAM REPORTS
The following is a listing of experiments conducted
by Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE) Fire Ant Applied
Research Laboratory (FAARP) over the past decade. These reports are the
basis for many of the fire ant management programs developed by TCE and
Texas Fire Ant Research and Management Plan. These files are copies of
the reports including materials, methods, data, results, conclusions and
graphics. Please note that these reports have not been published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals, but most can be considered "scientific" in that they
included fully replicated treatments and untreated control plots.
Most are statistically analyzed.
The experiments are divided into broad categories
for easier navigation. Links will allow the reader to download the entire
report in ".pdf" format so the documents can be easily and accurately
printed. To view these files you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader
which can be downloaded by clicking
here.
Categories
Years
The Fire Ant Applied Research Program serves
as a non-biased, university affiliated resource for the testing and development
of fire ant control products and methods. Private industry, through gift
and grant arrangements with TCE, can utilize FAARP personnel and expertise
to evaluate new products or develop new uses for existing products in
the area of fire ant management. Results from these efforts are also used
in educational programming by TCE and the Texas Red Imported Fire Ant
Management Plan in the areas of Integrated Pest Management.
DISCLAIMER
The information and suggestions included in this publication reflect the
opinions of Extension entomologists based on field tests and use experience.
Our management suggestions are a product of research and are believed
to be reliable. However, it is impossible to eliminate all risk. Conditions
or circumstances which are unforeseen or unexpected may result in less
than satisfactory results even when these suggestions are used. The Texas
Agricultural Extension Service will not assume responsibility for risks.
Such risks shall be assumed by the user of this publication.
Suggested pesticides must be registered and
labeled for use by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas
Department of Agriculture. The status of pesticide label clearances
is subject to change and may have changed since this publication was
printed. County Extension agents and appropriate specialists are advised
of changes as they occur.
The USER is always responsible for the effects of pesticide
residues on his livestock and crops, as well as for problems that could
arise from drift or movement of the pesticides from his property to
that of others. Always read and follow carefully the instructions on
the product label.
The information given herein is for educational purposes
only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the
understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement
by the Texas Cooperative Extension or the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station is implied.
Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level,
race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
TAMU System Policy Regarding
Product Evaluation
Animal and Plant Health Protection Product Evaluation Protocol
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Agricultural Extension
Service,
Texas Forest Service, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory
INTRODUCTION
The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES), Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE),
the Texas Forest Service (TFS) and the Texas
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab (TVMDL) (referred to as agencies),
are agencies within The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS),that
do not receive federal or state funding to evaluate products or devices(chemical
and/or non-chemical) for commercial companies, organizations, and/or
individuals. However, such evaluation may be performed utilizing funding
from other sources. Chemical products, both experimental and those registered
by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection
Agency, to be evaluated include, but are not limited to, plant or animal
protectants (antibiotics, antihelminthics, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides
and rodenticides) and animal and plant growth regulators. The agencies
are responsible for gathering scientifically-based information relative
to the effectiveness of these products in order that they may be able
to make suggestions to the clientele served.
Evaluation of products or devices by the agencies generally requires
outside funding. In most cases, support from commercial industry and/or
individuals is necessary to enable these agencies to conduct product
evaluations. The level of funding to support product evaluation is determined
by the agencies' principal investigators; however, the research contracts
will be with the respective agency of TAMUS, not with individual scientists/specialists.
Evaluations may take place prior to, during or after a product is labeled
by FDA or EPA. Furthermore,products may be evaluated for emergency use,
other special needs, or for label expansion.
PROCEDURES
Interested concerns wishing to utilize the assistance of the agencies
in evaluating products or devices can be required to develop a mutually
agreeable protocol with a collaborating investigator and develop the
necessary Memorandum of Agreement prior to establishing an evaluation
(Table 1).
Table 1. Sequence and procedure for establishing
a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Texas Agricultural Experiment
Station (TAES), Texas Cooperative Extension, the
Texas Forest Service (TFS) or the Texas Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic
Lab (TVMDL).
1. Investigator, working with
the private grantor or their representative, establishes a mutually
agreeable protocol for product (chemical, non-chemical) evaluation between
TAMUS faculty/staff and commercial concern to include appropriate safety
measures.
2. Investigator processes Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) and other desired documents such as a Propriety Agreement
with the commercial concern through the agencies director's office.
Note: Some grantors file standardized MOA's with TAMUS to
cover multiple projects.
3. Material Safety Data Sheets,
product use instructions (I.P.A. label) and other required technical
information, along with product, is submitted by grantor to TAMUS faculty/staff
processing MOA. The forgoing not withstanding, nothing in this policy
shall cause a private grantor to release proprietary data or information
nototherwise or here to fore made available to the researcher(s) or
to jeopardize property rights.
4. Project evaluation trial is conducted by TAMUS agency's
faculty/staff that processed MOA.
5. Grantor is allowed an opportunity to review results
prior to public release, unless TAMUS is required to release this information
under the Open Records Act.
6. A final report containing the results is provided to
the grantors and, unless stated otherwise in the MOA or other prior
agreements, is the property of TAMUS agency involved.
7. The report is released to the public following an opportunity
for review by the commercial concern and/or after the propriety agreement
interval has expired.
Product donated or provided to any TAMUS scientist
does not constitute a commitment to perform any type of evaluation or
research in regard to the product. If any applied research or product
evaluations are conducted using the donated product, the results do not
constitute an endorsement of the product.
To initiate a product evaluation through a TAMUS agency, a
mutually agreeable protocol must be developed to accompany a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA). The testing agency shall have the right to have all
results subjected to "peer review" by department, within the agency or
by appropriate scientist in other agencies or institutions. A Proprietary
Agreement form is also available to enable a private company or an individual
to perform research with release of results restricted to the contracting
firm or individual for the time designated on the form. Test design and
good laboratory practice (GLP) requirements must be discussed with faculty/staff
before an MOA is developed. The grantor must work closely with faculty/staff
to assure proper handling and use of products by well-informed personnel.
All paperwork is usually completed, MOA signed
by all parties, and the evaluation approved by the agency, before any
trial is initiated. This includes submission of Material Safety and Data
Sheets (MSDS), product labels and use instructions, and any other technical
information required by faculty/staff. All federal and state regulations
applicable to the treatment and evaluation of experimental products must
be complied with prior to initiation of any trial.
RESULTS AND RESTRICTIONS
Results are provided to contracting agencies or individuals before public
release or other release of the results as may be specified in the MOA.
Unless a completed and signed Proprietary Agreement is in place with release
restrictions or after expiration of a Proprietary Agreement, results are
considered to be public information and available to anyone upon request.
Raw data are available to the contractor or other parties upon request.
Results issued by TAMUS are intended for educational
purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names in reports/publications,
etc. is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended
and no endorsement is implied. The agencies within TAMUS assume no liability
related to the use or application of the products evaluated. Stated results
do not constitute an endorsement of an evaluated product by any agency
within TAMUS. Product evaluations are conducted according to conventional
scientific methods and results are reported according to the methodology
described in the MOA.
The faculty/staff receiving private funding strive
to establish trials and conduct research based upon established protocols.
Results can not be predicted or guaranteed. In the area of field trials,
agreements may be developed separately between the landowner and TAMUS
for the land's use. Faculty/staff can not guarantee results of established
field trials where field plots or animals are destroyed/compromised by
factors out of the control of the faculty/staff member, including field
plots destroyed by weather, removal (harvested, plowed), treated with
other products or other factors. Funded projects that are not conducted,
for reasons out of the control of the agency such as a targeted pest or
disease that does not occur in established field plots or animals, are
non refundable. In the event treatments described in the original Memorandum
of Agreement need to be modified (i.e., rate, timing, etc.), a new or
amended Memorandum of Agreement may be required by the collaborating TAMUS
faculty/staff.
Any discoveries made during the product evaluation
not directly related to the evaluation of the product being tested are
the property of TAMUS and its agencies.
By your signature below, you certify that you
and the contracting entity you represent understand and are in agreement
with the terms as prescribed herein and that you are an authorized representative
of the contracting entity.
__________________________ |
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| Name |
Contracting Entity Name |
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| __________________________ |
___________________________ |
| Title |
Date |
Fire Ant Plan Fact Sheet #003
May 1998
Memorandum released by Dr. Edward A. Hiler, October
29, 1997
The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference
to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that
no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service or the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station is implied.
Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic
level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
For further technical information on the content of these reports or
to find out more about contracting Fire Ant Applied Research services,
contact:
Bastiaan "Bart" M. Drees
Professor, Extension Entomologist
and Regents Fellow
Department of Entomology
412 Minnie Belle Heep,
2475 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2475
Ph: 979-845-7026
Fax: 979-845-7029
Email: b-drees@tamu.edu
Dr. Charles L. Barr
Extension Program Specialist
Department of Entomology
Building 4431, TAMU Riverside Campus
Highway 47, P.O. Box 2150
Bryan, Texas 77806
Phone: 979-845-6800
Fax: 979-845-6501
E-mail: cbarr@tamu.edu
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