Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
Michigan is the leading producer of tree fruits in the Midwest, with over 70,000 acres of orchards. Tree fruits are a significant contributor to Michigan's economy with a 3-year average farm level value of $375 million annually. Collectively, if left unchecked, a complex of over 30 kinds of arthropod pest species can reduce marketable yield by up to 100 percent. Among the key insect-related challenges facing the Michigan tree fruit industries are the need for new control options, the threat from invasive and emerging pests and meeting the zero tolerance for "worms" in fruit at harvest imposed by regulations and consumer demands. Without effective control of pests that feed directly on the fruit, growers can have entire loads of fruit rejected or in extreme cases lose an entire season's crop. Additionally, many factors acting together have heightened grower impetus to reduce chemical inputs and adopt alternative pest controls. The project addresses the USDA knowledge areas of plant protection against insects, mites and other arthropods and the development of integrated pest management systems.The overall goal of this project is to develop and deliver pest controls and management strategies that are efficacious, environmentally sound, and economical for Michigan tree fruit production systems. The objectives of the project are 1) to determine the efficacy and optimal timing of newer insecticides for control of major foliar and fruit feeding pests of MI tree fruits, 2) to develop monitoring tools and management programs for spotted wing drosophila, 3) to develop monitoring tools and management programs for brown marmorated stinkbug, 4) to determine the composition of BMSB microbiota and potential for manipulating symbiotic bacteria for managing this invasive, 5) to survey for the presence of lightbrown apple moth, summer fruit tortrix and European cherry fruit fly in Michigan tree fruits for the purpose of early detection of these potential invasive pests and 6) to determine the effectiveness of mass release of sterile males for management of codling moth in apple. Experiments will be conducted in orchards at MSU AgBioResearch Centers and in commercial plantings. The development of the sterile insect technique, trap-out, and other selective controls, and monitoring systems will allow growers to eliminate treatments that are not warranted and thereby reduce the cost of insect pest management programs. They also will lead to greater IPM implementation and reduced exposure of humans and the environment to pesticides. The estimated cost savings of eliminating a single spray on the 33,000 acres of apples grown in Michigan will lead to an increase profit for Michigan growers of $1.5 million. Knowledge will be delivered to target audiences through publication in peer-reviewed journals, presentation at professional meetings and through extension and outreach activities, including annual presentations at horticultural society meetings and short courses, and publication of newsletter articles and in web-based information resources Increases in grower adoption of new technologies and approaches, and changes in profit and insecticide use patterns will be measured to quantify the impact of the project on the intended audience.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
75%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to develop and deliver pest controls and management strategies that are efficacious, environmentally sound, and economical for Michigan tree fruit production systems. The specific objectives of the proposed research are:1) To determine the efficacy and optimal timing of newer insecticides for control of major foliar and fruit feeding pests of MI tree fruits.2) To develop monitoring tools and management programs for spotted wing drosophila.3) To develop monitoring tools and management programs for brown marmorated stinkbug.4) To determine the composition of BMSB microbiota and potential for manipulating symbiotic bacteria for managing this invasive.5) To survey for the presence of lightbrown apple moth, summer fruit tortrix and European cherry fruit fly in Michigan tree fruits for the purpose of early detection of these potential invasive pests.6) To determine the effectiveness of mass release of sterile males for management of codling moth in apple.
Project Methods
The efficacy of newer or experimental insecticides will be evaluated in orchards at MSU AgBioResearch Centers. Teatments will be applied to small plots arranged in a completely randomized block design with at least four replicates per treatment. Adult or immature densities and levels of fruit injury will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of pest control in all experiments. Data will be subjected to ANOVA; means will be separated using Tukey's honestly significant difference test.Trap comparisons and lab-field experiments will be used to develop monitoring tools and management programs for spotted wing drosophila. The commercial utility of a sticky red panel baited with a commercial lure for assessing SWD activity will be tested in at least 25 commercial cherry orchards spread throughout Michigan's main cherry production regions. To identify more potent attractants, volatiles will be collected from a number of sources that are known to be attractive to SWD using a headspace volatile collection system. The attractiveness of volatiles released from fruits, yeast, or the combination of the two will be tested in a flight tunnel and in field trapping assays. Small plot efficacy trials will be conducted to determine the optimum time for initiating SWD management programs and identify novel control tactics for SWD.New trap designs and commercially-produced or experimental lures for BMSB will be tested by deploying one of each trap or lure type at each of 4-6 sites where BMSB has been captured in previous years. The effect of trap placement will be simultaneously addressed by comparing BMSB catch in traps placed on the wood edge, on the orchard perimeter, or an intermediate location within the orchard drive row. Special attention will be focused on the newest BMSB trapping system comprised of LLIN netting affixed to a tall post and baiting with a pheromone lure. I also will test the effectiveness of LLINs as part of a management program via their deployment as trap out devices.Monitoring for the presence of lightbrown apple moth, summer fruit tortrix and eastern cherry fruit fly will entail deploying traps on 5-10 fruit farms in each of four Michigan fruit producing regions. Traps will be checked weekly. If a suspected positive find is recorded, the specimen(s) will be sent to USDA-APHIS for species identification.Research on BMSB symbiotic bacteria will focus on egg sterilization, potential control with bactericides and characterizing the symbionts presence in lab colonies and wild populations. Egg sterilization will be achieved by immersing egg masses in 4% formalin or 10% bleach, extensively washing them with sterile water, and air drying them on the surface of filter paper in the large sterile petri-dish. The numbers of eggs hatched, time for egg hatching, nymph mortality, their developmental time, adult longevity and female fecundity will be compared between eggs surface-sterilized with formalin or 10% bleach or not sterilized. The commercial bactericides registered for agricultural use, Bacinash-200 and Blackout (Multiplex company), with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity will be tested for their effects on fitness of BMSB. Molecular approaches for detecting and characterizing symbionts will be employed to identify the cause of high mortality in BMSB laboratory colonies. We will compare microbiome profiles in laboratory reared and wild-caught BMSB by extracting microbial DNA using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen).Experiments testing the effectiveness of mass release of sterile moths for managing CM will be conducted in commercial apple orchards in Michigan's main apple production regions. The study will be set up as a randomized complete block design with one replicate of each treatment within a given orchard plot. Mass-reared CM irradiated at 200 Gy will be imported from the Okanagan Kootenay Sterile Insect Release (OKSIR) facility in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada. I will evaluate the efficacy of two sterile release programs: 1) release of sterile moths plus judicious use of insecticides as needed or 2) pheromone-based mating disruption overlaid with the release of sterile moths plus judicious use of insecticides as needed. Captures of wild males in pheromone-baited traps and fruit injury counts at mid-season and prior to harvest will be used to assess treatment effects. The efficiency of releasing from "uniformly" or from "reduced release points, either by hand or drone, will be compared by measuring captures of released SIR moths in 16 pheromone-baited sticky traps placed in the upper portion of the trees, in a 4 x 4 grid within each block. Over the course of the project, I also will investigate factors, such as the timing of moth release and orchard design, that may impact the dispersal of SIR moths. Finally, I will evaluate the effectiveness of releasing SIR moths at 40:1, 20:1 and 10: 1 over-flooding ratios by simulating wild moth populations at different densities. Knowledge will be delivered to target audiences through publication in peer-reviewed journals, presentation at professional meetings and through extension and outreach activities, including annual presentations at horticultural society meetings and short courses, and publication of newsletter articles and in web-based information resources. In addition, the Michigan Fruit Management Guide that is updated annually will have the greatest day-to-day impact on grower practices because the publication is routinely consulted during the growing season to assist in the process of management decision-making. Increases in grower adoption of new technologies and approaches, and changes in profitability and insecticide use patterns will be measured to quantify the impact of the project on the intended audience.