Dicamba volatility tests via Humidome set-up at Tentamus Agrosciences

Date:12-15-2020

Co-authored by Dr Dan Safarpour and Dr John McKenzie

SYMBIOTIC RESEARCH, LLC (SRL), part of Tentamus Group GmbH, announces the expansion of its agrochemical research services into conducting humidome studies with Dicamba formulations.   

US-EPA has requested companies marketing Dicamba formulations to use humidome set-ups to evaluate the effects of defined parameters on secondary movement of Dicamba.  In controlled experimental settings provided through humidomes, the effect of temperature, relative humidity, pH of spray solution, and a variety of tank mix partners on the volatilization of Dicamba can be studied. As the weed resistance to Round-UP is increasing globally and with the introduction of Dicamba resistant crops, agrochemical companies have started to formulate Dicamba into their formulation to prevent further weed resistance build-up.

Since Dicamba is inherently volatile, it has introduced new challenges for the farmers dealing with potential damages to adjacent crops. Dicamba manufacturers are forced to develop new formulations in which the volatility of Dicamba is minimized. In assessing the volatility of the improved formulations, there are three general alternatives:

1. Wind tunnel tests which analyze the volatility of a pesticide by studying its drift potential using highly sophisticated, stationary equipment

2. Field volatilization tests which determine the volatility of the pesticide under field conditions

3. Humidome tests which determine the short-term volatilization potential of a pesticide within a controlled test environment

The standard Wind Tunnel and Field Volatilization tests are notoriously expensive and take many days or weeks to complete. In contrast, Humidome tests are rapid (in general, 24-hrs tests) and repeatable, making them economically viable. Therefore, multiple formulations can be tested very efficiently in a short timespan to identify the ideal formulation.

Early 2018, per request from one of its strategic agrochemical partners, a team of experts at Symbiotic Research started to work on developing a prototype sprayer system which is capable of applying proper amounts of Dicamba formulations onto each humidome tray filled with soil.  The spray assembly sought to deliver 1.8 grams of various Dicamba formulations using commercial spray nozzles operated under field-like spray conditions. For example, 120 humidome spray applications resulted in volumes within 99.17% of target application rates. The team converted one of its temperature and humidity-controlled laboratories to incubate humidomes over 24 hours. Simultaneously, the team developed an LC-MS/MS quantitative method to monitor the levels of volatilized dicamba in filter-trap assemblies.

In 2019, Symbiotic Research conducted its first humidome study for submission to the US-EPA. Hundreds of humidomes were successfully tested using various Dicamba and spray mix formulations – all were sprayed, incubated, and analyzed for the Dicamba levels with a short turnaround time. The team is now gearing up to increase the output by at least 400% to keep up with potential continuous testing for upcoming years. 

About the authors:

		Dr Dan Safarpour, CEO Symbiotic Research Ltd, part of Tentamus Group GmbH Dr Dan Safarpour; has a degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from University of Arkansas, and a doctorate in Environmental Analytical Chemistry from Rutgers University, USA. He has over twenty five years of GLP laboratory experience with over ten years of executive management level experience in running GLP residue/bio-analytical, tox analysis, environmental fate, metabolism research, product chemistry and formulation analysis lab. Since 2011 he has been Chief Executive Officer of Symbiotic Research, part of the Tentamus Group of companies. He provides support as Expert Lecturer to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) traveling to the FAO member nations under United Nations (UN) and help to build GLP and ISO 17025 compliant residue labs in collaboration with appropriate FAO member nations heads and IAEA. He has published articles on chromatography, metabolism and bioanalysis. Email contact at dan.safarpour@tentamus.com.
		Dr John McKenzie, Vice President Tentamus Asia, Tentamus Group GmbH Dr John McKenzie; has a degree in Agricultural Chemistry, and doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Glasgow University, Scotland. He has over 30 years work experience in European based Contract Research Organisations (CRO) working to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) as Study Director and Management in development and registration of Plant Protection Products, Biocides and similar products. Currently he is Vice President – Asia for Tentamus Group with responsibilities for 7 labs in China (including Taiwan) and Japan. Email contact at john.mckenzie@tentamus.com

About Tentamus Group

Tentamus Group GmbH was founded in 2011. Tentamus is a global product and safety group with a core presence in Europe, UK, Israel, China, Japan, India and the USA. Accredited and licensed Tentamus Group tests, audits and consults on all products involving the human body (food & feed, pharmaceuticals & medical, agrosciences, cosmetics, agriculture & environment and nutraceutical & supplements). Tentamus Group is represented in over 65 locations worldwide. More than 2,500 highly-trained staff members work in over 2.5 million square feet of laboratory and office spaces. For further information please visit www.tentamus.com. 

About Symbiotic Research

 

SRL (a Tentamus company) is a C-14 licensed contract research facility and which provides in-life and analytical research services. SRL is a fully GLP compliant laboratory that has expanded its services over the years to cover a broad range of agrochemical R&D services such as product chemistry, formulation analysis support, animal feeding/residue studies, metabolism studies in plant, animal & soil, environmental fate studies and recently Humidome studies. SRL is located at 350 Clark Drive, Mount Olive, NJ 07828.    

www.SymbioticResearch.com