The purpose of the Student Design Competition is to encourage undergraduate students to participate in the basic design of an engineering project useful to agriculture and related areas and to provide an arena of professionalism in which the student can experience peer recognition of a well conceived and executed design project.

S.P.L.A.T. Pheromone Applicator EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The student's design built and tested a backpack mounted system to apply Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM) pheromone treated wax to the trunks of fruit trees.

CONFUSE-OFM Pheromone is a biological control chemical used to combat the Oriental Fruit Moth. The chemical must diffuse slowly into the atmosphere near the fruit trees. At present the MSU Entomology Department researchers manually apply a pheromone-based wax to tree trunks in orchards.

We have developed an accurate, easy-to-use catapulting device that can quickly apply the wax substance to trees. This report has some prototype test data that attest to the usefulness of our invention. At low volume manufacture, the device could sell for $2,400, which is less than the $3,000 that orchard owners are willing to pay. The device allows an ambulatory worker to administer pheromone to approximately 700 trees per hour. The device can enter the market in less than two years. Conventional metal fabrication tools were used in building the prototype; no sophisticated tooling is needed.

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