ARS has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to approve large-scale field tests. ARS and PhotoDye have filed patent applications on SureDye technology. Scientists at other ARS locations are investigating SureDye's potential against other pests such as boll weevils and corn earworms. In field tests, ARS researchers treated corn with 10 pounds per acre of granules laced with one-tenth of a pound of malathion. Control was as effective as if 100 times that much malathion had been sprayed.
Researchers are adapting the technology for wide-scale application, so farmers can use it.
A female weevil tastes a cotton bud to gauge whether it's rich in sugars her larvae need to grow. If the sweetness meets her exacting standards, she'll lay an egg in the bud. To discourage her, ARS scientists have bred low-sugar cotton germplasm lines. In 1990 and 1993 field tests, the new lines had only about half as many eggs as commercial varieties. Cotton breeders could develop the new lines into high-yielding, commercial varieties.