Dow AgroSciences LLC Research Articles

Optimizing the design of global supply chains at Dow AgroSciences

The design of the underlying supply chain network can have a tremendous impact on the profitability, manageability, and level of risk of a global supply chain. Taxes, duties, and tariffs vary from country to country as well as trading bloc to trading bloc and can consume as much as 10% of the revenues of certain products. In the highly regulated business environment of agricultural chemicals, the country of origin of an active ingredient can determine where the final product can be marketed and the amount of taxes and duties applied to the product, making it necessary to trace all batches of product through many layers of the supply chain to their sources. This article presents a mixed integer linear programming model in use at Dow AgroSciences LLC that simultaneously optimizes the network design underlying global supply chains and the monthly production and shipping schedules for maximum profitability. This work contributes to the supply chain design literature by demonstrating a novel method of tracing products to their source for inventory valuation, taxation, and duty computation in a production environment where the products change into other products as they pass through nodes in the network. It also demonstrates an iterative scheme for determining unit fixed costs for fixed cost allocation for the same purposes. Finally, it provides a case study of a supply chain design initiative in a global enterprise.

Evaluation of Nutritional Equivalency of Corn Grain from DAS-Ø15Ø7-1 (Herculex* I) in the Diets of Laying Hens

Grain from transgenic corn line TC1507 (Herculex* I) from Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Dow AgroSciences LLC, which expresses the Cry1F protein from Bacillus thuringiensis to provide protection from lepidopteran pests of corn, was compared with its isoline equivalent and 2 conventional corn strains in a 16-wk laying hen feeding trial. Egg production and production efficiency of hens fed the diet formulated with transgenic grain TC1507 were similar to those of hens fed diets formulated with isoline or nontransgenic conventional corns. Hens fed TC1507 had similar egg qualities as those fed nontransgenic grain diets. Diet × phase interactions were noted for Haugh unit and Roche color fan score. Hens fed conventional corn 2 had a poorer Haugh unit score compared with hens fed the other 3 diets. Conventional corn 1 had greater levels of xanthophylls compared with the other corn treatments, resulting in increased Roche color fan score for eggs produced by hens fed this diet. Overall, hens fed the transgenic Herculex* I corn grain containing the Cry1F protein performed as well as hens fed the isoline equivalent of Herculex* I and hens fed the conventional corn grains.

Corn Response to Mesotrione as Affected by Soil Insecticide, Application Method, and Rate

Corn Response to Mesotrione as Affected by Soil Insecticide, Application Method, and Rate

Ingestion of spinosad bait GF-120 and resulting impact on adult Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

The spinosad bait spray GF-120 Naturalyte F® (Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USA) is widely used in commercial olives in California. Because of concern about its non-target effects on beneficial insects, we studied its impact on feeding behavior, mortality, and reproductive parameters of adult green lacewings, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens), under laboratory conditions. Male and female feeding rate and quantity, and subsequent mortality, were compared over a 5-day period following a 24-h exposure to honey, GF-120, or the bait component (without spinosad) in two-choice and no-choice assays. All treatments were ingested equally when offered alone. Spinosad did not impart repellency or preference to GF-120 relative to the bait. Honey was preferred in choice tests with GF-120 or bait. Significant mortality occurred when GF-120 was offered alone, but was not significant when it was offered in choice with honey or bait. In a separate assay of female longevity and reproduction, mortality rate as a function of time was similar in all treatments, except for some significantly earlier mortality due to GF-120 compared with honey. GF-120 ingestion significantly reduced fecundity compared with bait during the first week after treatment. Egg hatch was not significantly affected. The preference of adult C. carnea for food should ameliorate the potential negative effect of GF-120 on adult C. carnea mortality in the field. The laboratory study finds that GF-120 is a potentially safer choice for C. carnea than an aqueous suspension of spinosad, and provides no new evidence for definitive risk to field populations.

Syngenta Seeds, Inc., v. Monsanto Company and DeKalb Genetics Corp., and Dow Agrosciences LLC, Mycogen Plant Science, Inc., and Agrigenetics, Inc. (2006-1203, -1204, -1205)

Syngenta Seeds, Inc., v. Monsanto Company and DeKalb Genetics Corp., and Dow Agrosciences LLC, Mycogen Plant Science, Inc., and Agrigenetics, Inc. (2006-1203, -1204, -1205)

Dose response of weed seeds and soilborne pathogens to 1,3-D and chloropicrin

InLine (Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USA), a commercial formulation of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D; 61%) plus chloropicrin (33%), is one of the potential replacements to methyl bromide for soil fumigation. The efficacy of 12 InLine concentrations (80–19,520 μmol kg −1) to control five species of weed seeds and four soilborne pathogens was evaluated in a laboratory dose–response study after 24 h of exposure to fumigants in a sandy loam soil at 20 °C in microcosms. Logistic dose–response models were used to estimate the effective concentration to reduce weed seed and pathogen viability by 50% (LC50) or 90% (LC90). Among the weeds, the seed of Portulaca oleracea was the most sensitive to soil fumigation with InLine (LC 50=352 μmol kg −1, LC 90=583 μmol kg −1), followed by Stellaria media and Polygonum arenastrum with LC 90 values of 780 and 1636 μmol kg −1 soil, respectively. The seeds of Malva parviflora and Erodium cicutarium were not sensitive to fumigation up to the highest InLine dose of 19,520 μmol kg −1 soil. Among the pathogens, Pythium ultimum (LC 50=30 μmol kg −1 soil, LC 90=46 μmol kg −1 soil) was the most sensitive and Verticillium dahliae (LC 50=625 μmol kg −1 soil, LC 90=2735 μmol kg −1 soil) was the least sensitive to InLine fumigation. Phytophthora cactorum and Fusarium oxysporum exhibited intermediate susceptibility to this soil treatment (LC 50⩽397 μmol kg −1 soil, LC 90⩽1113 μmol kg −1 soil). In this sandy loam soil, InLine at a concentration of 1636 μmol kg −1 reduced the viability of Portulaca oleracea, S. media, Polygonum arenastrum seeds and all fungi pathogens tested (except for V. dahliae) by 90% at 20 °C after 24 h exposure.

Long-Term Protection of Madame John's Legacy House from Subterranean Termites using Hexaflumuron

The use of the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System (Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN) for the control of subterranean termites in Madame John's Legacy House, a historic property in New Orleans, Louisiana, is described. A combination of in-ground and above-ground bait stations containing the active ingredient, hexaflumuron, was employed. This case study illustrates the importance of controlling moisture-related problems in structures prior to the application of above-ground termite baits.

Portable plant-tissue macerator.

BioTechniquesVol. 31, No. 1 BenchmarksOpen AccessPortable Plant-Tissue MaceratorRod A. Herman, Randy A. Collins, Charles A. Mihaliak & Craig T. MosburgRod A. Herman*Address correspondence to Rod A. Herman, Environmental Chemistry Laboratories, Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA. e-mail: E-mail Address: raherman@dowagro.comDow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USASearch for more papers by this author, Randy A. CollinsDow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USASearch for more papers by this author, Charles A. MihaliakDow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USASearch for more papers by this author & Craig T. MosburgDow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, USASearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:5 Sep 2018https://doi.org/10.2144/01311bm08AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit "Portable Plant-Tissue Macerator." , 31(1), pp. 49–52FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByHigh-throughput extraction of arthropod vector and pathogen DNA using bead millingChristopher J. Allender, W. Ryan Easterday, Matthew N. Van Ert, David M. Wagner & Paul Keim6 June 2018 | BioTechniques, Vol. 37, No. 5 Vol. 31, No. 1 Follow us on social media for the latest updates Metrics Downloaded 171 times History Published online 5 September 2018 Published in print July 2001 Information© 2018 Author(s)PDF download

Response of Reticulitermes spp. (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in northern California to baiting with hexaflumuron with sentricon termite colony elimination system.

Colonies of Reticulitermes spp. were baited with prototype and commercial Sentricon stations (Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN) to test the efficacy of hexaflumuron in different concentrations and bait matrices and to document reinvasion of the foraging territories vacated by eliminated colonies. Seven colonies of Reticuliternes spp. from two sites were characterized with cuticular hydrocarbon analyses and mark-release-recapture and agonistic behavioral studies. Three colonies were observed as controls and four colonies were baited. When a connection between the bait station and the monitoring station could not be confirmed by mark-release-recapture studies, the results of the baiting were equivocal. The monitoring stations of a colony at our wildland site were devoid of termites 406 d after baiting with one Sentricon station, but became reoccupied with the same species of termites approximately 6 mo after baiting. A colony at the residential site was baited with 0.5% hexaflumuron in the Recurit II bait matrix; 60 d later termites were absent from all monitoring stations. These monitoring stations remained unoccupied for > or = 18 mo. Foraging Reticulitermes spp. appeared in three of the seven monitoring stations 18, 24, and 36 mo after baiting, respectively. Using cuticular hydrocarbon analyses and agonistic behavior studies, we determined that the Reticulitermes spp. occupying these monitoring stations were from three different colonies; none were members of the original colony destroyed by baiting. Another colony at the residential site was baited using a noncommercial, experimental bait; 52 d later termites were absent from all monitoring stations. The monitoring stations remained unoccupied for > or = 9 mo. A different Reticulitermes sp. colony invaded one monitoring station 9 mo after baiting.