QUESTION 4(a). What kinds of problems are you addressing under the category "environmental" research? U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH RELATING TO PROTECTING OR ENHANCING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-JUNE 1971 Sediment. CONTROL OR ABATEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL-RELATED POLLUTION AIR Reduce opportunty for particles to become airborne by developing appropriate management practices. Reduce effects of airborne particles. Determine the relationship of soil erosion to air pollution. Develop controls other than chemical pesticides for the prevention or reduction of diseases that damage or destroy shelterbelts. Reduce growth loss and tree mortality in shelterbelts resulting from damage by insects. Improve shelterbelts to control wind erosion. Animal wastes. Develop equipment and management procedures to reduce the pollution hazards from poultry wastes in caged layer egg production in the Northeast. Determine the components in poultry wastes that cause noxious odors and evaluate masking agents that will reduce, eliminate, or cover them. Identify gaseous components causing odor. Develop practices to reduce ordor. Wastes from industrial processing of raw agricultural products. Determine emission characteristics of gin trash. Adapt or develop new principles of air-particulate matter separation specifically for cotton gins. Reduce air pollution. Produce straight defect free trees to reduce waste in primary manufacture. Eliminate smoke from wood burners and odors from pulp mills. Forest and crop residues. Determine the effectiveness of burning crop residues as a method for the control of plant diseases, insects and weeds. Determine potential markets for logging and plant residues, bark and underutilized timber resources and recycled fiber. Pesticides in the environment. Develop methods of weed and brush control in an effort to keep the amounts of pesticides in the environment to a minimum involving research on herbicides displaced by wind erosion, effect of volatile herbicides on non-target plants, and special formulations of pesticides which aid in preventing spray drift. Studies of better dispersion of compounds such as carbon tetrachloride, ethylene dibromide, etc., from formulations of liquid fumigants, as well as those used in vacuum fumigation. Develop application equipment and methods to minimize entry of pesticides in air away from target area. Fate and effect of application of pesticides in forest environment. Develop less persistent, more specific fungicides and nematocides and improved application methods. Develop less persistent, more specific insecticides and improved application methods. Develop safer chemicals and lower dosages to control undesirable vegetation and pests. Sediment. WATER Determine the physiochemical properties of sediments and their influence upon water quality and aquatic environments. Develop management practices to keep runoff water from picking up sediment. Prevent erosion and rehabilitate eroding areas. Prevent river and lake pollution. Analyze economic efficiency of soil and water conservation practices, evaluate economic consequences of sediment, and evaluate alternative means for controlling sediment movement. Animal wastes. Develop methods and facilities for handling, reclaiming and/or disposing of farm animal wastes economically and without environmental pollution hazard. Determine the extent that feedlot management practices can be manipulated to reduce pollution. Develop improved waste treatment and handling methods for liquid effluent to meet water quality standards. Develop methods for converting wastes to useful products. Evaluate alternative means of pollution abatement, assess economic effects of water pollution from feedlots, estimate economic impact of pollution abatement on farm and industry. Wastes from industrial processing of raw agrícultural materials. Determine and evaluate criteria for uses of various processing effluents as a source of supplemental irrigation water. Establish tolerance of several plant species to excess salts applied in foodprocessing effluents. Evaluate effects of dissolved and suspended solids in waste water on the physical and chemical properties of soil. Determine the effect of waste effluents on biological transformations in soils. Development of disease-resistant varieties of fruits and vegetables to result. in a reduction in the amount of processing wastes. Reduce water pollution from potato and root vegetable peeling. Lower cost processing for refining soybean oil with reduction of water pollution. Concentration and fractionation of dairy products by reverse osmosis. Exploratory studies on disposing of or reclaiming food processing wastes. Reduce water pollution from poultry waste. Reduce water pollution from feed crops. Aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of detergents. Decentralizing tomato preprocessing and processing operations to minimize problems of waste disposal. Recovery and utilization of proteins, amino acids and other valuables from potato starch factory wastes. Improve harvesting methods to reduce the volume of waste handled in processing plants. Recover and use by-products from waste. Improve treatment and disposal of wastes from processing plants. Reduce pollutants in effluents of pulp mills. Determine characteristics of pollution from agricultural processing, evaluate methods for reducing pollution, and evaluate effects of adjustments on industry performance. Plant nutrients. Determine the influence of rainfall and the application of irrigation water in the movement of fertilizer nutrients out of the rooting zone; develop mathematical models for predicting nutrient movements in surface and ground waters. Minimize runoff and percolation of nutrients by using them more effectively. Determine behavior and fate of applied nutrients. Develop treatment methods to remove excess plant nutrients from water. Evaluate economic and social effects of plant nutrients carried in ground and surface waters and analyze alternative means of controlling plant nutrient movement into water. Forest and crop residues. Determine the movement and fate of weed seeds and of nematodes in irrigation water. Develop practices that reduce sediment by developing efficient and fast forage seeding procedures. Minimize waste from timber management practices and tree harvesting and to increase utilization of wastes from wood processing operations. Inorganic salts and minerals. Determine how plants can more effectively utilize inorganic substances thereby reducing water pollution. Develop management practices that will reduce salinity. Develop design criteria for reducing the accumulation of salts in impounded waters I Improve irrigation land drainage practices to minimize the effects of salts and minerals on return-water quality.. Increase water yield to dilute salt concentrations. Pesticides in the environment. and bus Determine the behavior and fate of pesticides in water; the effect of herbicides in irrigation water on production of crop plants. Avoid or minimize water contamination with insecticides that persist in the environment. Determine the influence of pesticide residues in soils on the pollution of ground and surface waters. ⠀ 1 Develop soil and water management methods for maintaining or decreasing pesticide residues in soil and water. Improve quality of poultry by reducing processing contamination. Reduce water being used in processing poultry, thus reducing potential pollution by discarded waste. Improved method of handling and storing seed potatoes will reduce the quantity of chemical solutions used and concentrate their use in seed producing areas. This will result in the reduction of the potential of polluting streams with discarded excess chemical solutions.... Evaluate the nature, extent and significance of pesticides in water. Develop treatment methods to reduce entry of pesticides into water. Develop safer chemicals and lower dosages to control undesirable vegetation and pests. Develop less persistent, more specific insecticides and improved application methods. Develop less persistent, more specific fungicides and nematocides and improved application methods. Other. Evaluate the nature, extent and significance of other pollutants such as heat, in water. Develop practices to utilize water and abnormal temperature. Sediment. LAND Determine sediment sources, amounts and delivery from watersheds; and to develop practices to control erosion and stabilize critical sediment source, areas. Develop methods to reduce the harmful effect of sediment deposit on land. Animal wastes. Reduce amounts of animal wastes returned to land and to minimize costs of disposal. Determine the biochemical, physiological and biological characteristics of animal wastes and develop methods for appointing these properties with the aim to reduce the volume, odor and pollution characteristics. Research is directed toward processing wastes into usable feedstuffs for animal use by chemical treatments and by growing fly larvae under controlled conditions. Determine how much manure can be applied to soil without damaging crop or causing soil pollution. Determine the longevity of any toxic or stimulatory material associated with animal waste when applied to soils. Develop technology for use of composting methods for volume reduction and stabilization of wastes and for efficient handling, storing, utilization, and disposal of cattle waste produced. Determine effects on soil of heavy and frequent loading of animal wastes. Wastes from industrial processing of raw agricultural materials. Determine effects on soil of heavy and frequent loading of processing wastes. Plant nutrients. Determine the chemical reactions and biological transformations of fertilizers in soil. Determine the soil conditions that influence the nitrification and denitrification processes in soil. Determine behavior and fate of plant nutrients in the soil. Forest and crop residues. Determine the use of crop residues on the biological control of soil-borne plant diseases, involving extensive cultural, ecological, and other farm management practices. Determine how particle size influences the rate of decomposition of organic materials in the soil. Determine the nitrogen and soil reaction requirements for rapid decomposition of these organic materials in the soil. Determine the difference in rate of decomposition of each specie. Determine the maximum rates that residues can be used without damaging crop quality or polluting soil and water resource. Determine effects on soil of heavy loadings of forest and plant residues. Increased utilization of residues from logging and manufacture. Inorganic salts and minerals. Determine the influence of soil management on the accumulation of salts in order to reduce salt damage to crops. Develop methods for treating soil harmfully affected by inorganic salts and minerals. Pesticides in the environment. Determine the behavior and fate of pesticides in soils, including the influence of pesticides on the microbial processes in soils, the effect of pesticides on succeeding crops and the nature of pesticidal runoff from treated land.. Avoid or minimize soil contamination with insecticides that persist in the environment. Develop instrumentation for monitoring pollution from pesticides in various elements of the environment. Evaluate the nature, extent and significance of pesticides in the soil.. Measure costs of pesticide use practices and changes over time, analyses of alternative methods of pest control, trade-off between production efficiency and environmental quality. Fate and effect of application of pesticides in forest environments. Develop less persistent, more specific fungicides and nematocides and improved application methods. Develop safer chemicals and lower dosages to control undesirable vegetation and pests. Develop less persistent, more specific insecticides and improved application methods. Other. Determine the nature, extent and significance of other pollutants on the soil. Recycle wood fibers in municipal rubbish. Develop practices that will reduce wind erosion. Determine the influence of barriers on wind erosion. LIFE FORMS Animal wastes. Determine the effect on crop plants of heavy and frequent loadings of animal wastes. Wastes from industrial processing of raw agricultural products. Determine the effects on crop plants of heavy and frequent loadings of processing wastes. Plant nutrients. Determine the effect of plant nutrients on crop production. Forest and crop residues. Determine plant tolerance to heavy applications of crop residue to the soil. Use of crop residues for biological control of soil-borne plant diseases. Inorganic salts and minerals. Improve plant tolerance and utilization of salts and minerals. Pesticides in the environment. Reduce current losses of livestock due to chemical poisoning by developing a complete understanding of the nature of the intoxication, biological mechanisms, and proper preventatives and/or antidotal procedures. Studies on the absorption, translocation, mechanisms of action, sites of action, metabolism, and fate of pesticides in plants. Studies on the phytotoxic interactions of pesticides, possible mutagenic effects of pesticides, and biochemical effects of herbicides are directed at reducing the harmful effects upon crops resulting from pesticide use. Develop methods and equipment to apply chemical pest-control agents in the smallest effective quantities. Investigate integrated combinations of chemical, physical, and biological control methods to reduce or eliminate residues in the meat, milk or vegetable product reaching the consumer. Determine the effect of pesticide usage on wildlife populations. Develop quantitative wildlife population data. Develop methods and chemicals for pesticide use that are not detrimental to wildlife. Airborne chemicals and particulates of other than agricultural origin. Chemical air pollutants being investigated include sulfur compounds, fluorine, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, peroxyacetylnitrate, ethylene, ozone, oxidants, and other plant toxicants. The effectiveness of chemicals to reduce the phytotoxicity of chemical air pollutants is being studied. Develop remote sensing techniques for detecting and evaluating air pollution injury to forest trees. Determine the effects of air pollutants on forest trees, to develop trees resistant to air pollutants, and to determine the role of trees in modifying the quality of the environment. Evaluate nature, extent and significance of air pollutants. Determine the effects of air pollutants on crop plants and on animals. Other. Effects of chronic radiation on forest trees and ecosystems. Sediment. MATERIALS, DEVICES AND STRUCTURES Determine the effects of reservoir design and operation upon the amount, distribution and properties of sediment accumulation within reservoirs. Alternatives to the use of pesticides. Develop nonpesticidal control methods for insects. Develop nonpesticidal controls for forest tree diseases. Develop nonchemical methods to control undesirable vegetation and pests, and develop faster-growing and pest-resistant strains and varieties. Reduce the pesticide requirement by better understanding of the timing of pesticides to the life cycle of pests. Improve understanding of pesticide resistance. Breeding for disease and insect resistance to reduce the amount of pesticides requirred to control insects effectively. Program is aimed at producing crops with lower pesticide residue levels. Develop alternate methods of pest control through breeding cultural and biological methods to prevent residues to pesticides in soil and crops. Develop biological methods for controlling aquatic weeds. Develop nonchemical methods for pest control and equipment to implement these methods. Investigate integrated combinations of physical and biological control methods. Develop methods for control of insects that affect food production and quality; livestock and man. Utilize insects that are beneficial to man. Develop noninsecticidal control methods that do not adversely affect non-target organisms. Replace broad spectrum chemical pesticides with biological or other alternative controls to avoid or minimize pollution to prevent harm to man, livestock, beneficial insects, and crops. |