Texas Tech University System

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Disease and Invasive Species Cause Significant Agricultural Economic Damage. Specifically, Powdery Mildew and the Spotted Lanternfly Comprise Over 300 Million Dollars in Annual Losses With Devastation to Grape Crops. to Reduce and Mitigate These Losses, Real-time Detection in the Field Is Key for Targeted Removal of Spotted Lanternfly Eggs and Precise Fungicidal Application for Powdery Mildew. Agricultural Detection Dogs Maybe a Precise, Accurate, and Scalable Solution. Our Objective Here Is to Scientifically Evaluate the Capacity and Capability of Detection Canines as an Early Detection Tool in the Fight Against Invasive Species and Diseases. We Expect That Detection Canines Will Demonstrate Remarkable Olfactory Sensitivity for the Detection of Agricultural Threats and That a Citizen Science Approach Will Demonstrate That Canine Detection Technology May Be Readily and Cost-effectively Deployed at Scale. Our First Two Aims Will, for the First Time, Measure Canine Detection Capability Using Precise Automated Behavioral Testing Equipment for DOGS' Detection of Powdery Mildew and Spotted Lanternfly Eggs. Our Third Aim Will Measure the Usa Capacity for a Large Detection Dog Network for Agricultural Targets. We Will Leverage Our Partnership With the National Association of Canine Scent Work, Which Has Registered Over 20,000 Dogs in Detection Work, to Train 70 Certified Dog Teams to Detect Powdery Mildew and Evaluate the Teams in Real-world Deployment Tests in Active Vineyards. Together, We Will Thoroughly Define Canine Detection Capability for Two Biosecurity Threats Targeting Grape Vines and Evaluate the Usa Capacity for an Agricultural Detection Dog Network.