Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:For PI Joseph, and Co-PIs Yu, Schoeller, the target audiences including extension agents and stakeholders were reached through agent training sessions, grower talks, extension articles, and workshops. As research projects were newly initiated, stakeholder engagement focused primarily on state regulators, ornamental nursery and greenhouse growers, and field vegetable growers in Georgia and Florida. Additional outreach was extended to stakeholders in the Great Lakes Region (e.g., Wisconsin and Michigan), whereT. parvispinushas also been detected. Engagement included presentations at workshops and industry meetings, as well as direct communication with state regulators developing policies for this invasive pest. Initial collaborations have begun with Canadian researchers working onT. parvispinusin ornamental greenhouse and nursery production to identify future research opportunities. Co-PI Revynthi engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, including ornamental nursery growers, landscapers, homeowners, vegetable growers, industry partners, USDA ARS scientists, and regulatory agencies such as FDACS-DPI and USDA APHIS. Co-PI Mou: Outreach efforts primarily targeted pepper growers in southern Florida. These growers were engaged through bi-weekly farm visits and one-on-one interactions, which provided opportunities to address specific concerns, share research updates, and discuss integrated pest management strategies forT. parvispinus. Co-PI Meszarosdelivered extension programming to commercial vegetable growers, farm managers, supervisors, crop consultants, industry members, and research and extension faculty and students across Florida. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?PI Joseph:PresentedT. parvispinusbiology and management to nursery growers at the Georgia Green Industry Association Annual Tradeshow (Southeast Green) in June 2025. Future data from project goals will be shared with stakeholders as they become available.Co-PI Mou:Hired and trained a local OPS technician in Belle Glade, FL, with no prior entomology experience. The technician received hands-on training in thrips sampling and handling, contributing to both professional development and project capacity.Co-PIMeszaros:PresentedT. parvispinusresearch at multiple professional meetings, including the Entomological Society of America (national and Southeast Branch), Florida State Horticultural Society, and the National Agricultural County Agent Association. These events supported outreach, collaboration, and professional development.Co-PI Revynthi:Supports a master's student who is gaining experience in designing factorial experiments and learning advanced statistical analysis.Co-PI Schoeller:Two Ph.D. students in the Schoeller Lab are gaining technical and scientific expertise in pest management. The lab also supports research training for two M.S. and one additional Ph.D. student from other labs. Dr. Schoeller provided grower training through three workshops focused onT. parvispinusmanagement.Co-PI Yu: Developed and delivered a 3-hour workshop onT. parvispinusat Southeast Green in June 2025. Also presented research updates at Grady County Green Up in July 2025 and submitted a 2-hour extension agent training to UGA Extension for 2026. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Co-PI Meszaroscommunicated T. parvispinus related information, via on-one one communication and field visits with growers. We organized an in-person meeting and a webinar. Now the recording of these meetings are available online to reach a broader audience. For Co-PIMou, although no formal research results have been generated, the experimental design and expected outcome have been actively disseminated and discussed with key stakeholders, including the southern Florida pepper growers and pepper seed companies.Co-PI Revynthi: The results were shared with ornamental and vegetable stakeholders. See previous section under Goal 4.PIJoseph, and Co-PI Scheloer arestill beginning to generatedata so results are not yet available for dissemination to stakeholders. General information on this species presented in an extension article (in press)and a review paperis currently under review.Co-PIYudisseminated resultsto communities of interest by peer reviewed articles, extension articles, workshops at tradeshows and presentations at grower's events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?PI Joseph: As part of goal 1 more nurseries and greenhouses will be visited to collect thrips species in 2026. Goal 2, choice, no-choice and developmental studies will be continued in 2025 and 2026. Efficacy studies will continue in 2026 to determine the most effective products for use as part of goal 3. The newly generated information will be disseminated to growers through nursery association meetings and agent update meetings as part of goal 4.Co-PIMeszaros: Continue disseminating the most updated research findings related to Thrips parvispinus management in pepper production. Organize a joint meeting with our Georgia partners to present new findings related to T. parvispinus research.Co-PIMou: For the next reporting period, we plan to conduct insecticide trials to evaluate the efficacy of five insecticides for T. parvispinus control on pepper seedlings. With a stable thrips colony now maintained in a growth chamber, we are confident in our research capacity to test all insecticide treatments simultaneously with replications.Co-PIRevynthi: Execute the laboratory experiments for Goal 3 and complete the second replicate of the greenhouse experiment for Goal 2. Additionally, Dr. Revynthi is planning an extension activity on September 17, 2025 to provide research updates to ornamental nursery growers.Co-PIScheloer: Now that students are established in the lab and working on projects, we expect to make major progress on research and publication goals in the next reporting period. The Schoeller Lab expects to have two publications out by the end of 2025.During the next reporting period we will begin work on greenhouse application of entomopathogenic nematodes, efficacy of pruning and insecticide application techniques, and efficacy of biological control agents with insecticides for T. parvispinus management. We have multiple conferences and workshop planned for next reporting period where we will begin to share results from our experiments.Co-PIYu: The results of the mulch trial have been analyzed, and a manuscript of the results is under preparation. The pruning trial will be conducted in the fall of 2025 or in spring of 2026 at the latest.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: Determining the Spread ofT. parvispinusin Georgia To assess the distribution ofT. parvispinus, thrips were sampled from three nurseries and one pepper field in Georgia. NoT. parvispinuswere detected in these locations. However, the pest was found onMandevillaplants from three box stores in central Georgia. Goal 2: Evaluating Feeding Damage on Ornamentals and Peppers Feeding damage was assessed on approximately 35 ornamental plant species commonly grown in Georgia nurseries. Leaf discs were exposed to five second-instar larvae and five adult females ofT. parvispinusto evaluate damage symptoms, which were documented and compared across hosts. Additional studies examined host preferences and attraction to flower colors to identify susceptible species and cultivars. Cultural control trials using mulch were also conducted. Results from these studies are pending. In Florida, laboratory and greenhouse experiments revealed that feeding damage increased with thrips density. Adult thrips caused the most damage across all hosts. For gardenia, both density and life stage significantly influenced damage, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in pest management. Goal 3: Compatibility of Chemical and Biological Control Seven insecticides and three predators (Amblyseius swirskii,Oriusspp., andChrysoperla carnea) are being tested for compatibility. Foliar applications were made on gardenia, pepper, and rose. Treated leaves were evaluated for residual activity at 0, 7, 14, and 21 days post-treatment, and larval emergence was recorded. Data analysis is ongoing. Goal 4: Outreach and Extension Activities A webinar and an in-person "Pepper Grower Meeting" in Immokalee were held to share information onT. parvispinusidentification, scouting, host plants, management, and spread. Recordings are available on the UF/IFAS Vegetable Production website. A pepper scouting guide and identification resources were also published online. The South Florida Pest and Diseases Hotline newsletter, distributed every three weeks, included updates onT. parvispinus. Since September 2024, 11 issues have reached over 1,400 subscribers. Two major extension events provided research updates. The first workshop, attended by 120 participants, showed a 5.3% knowledge gain (based on pre- and post-tests), with 84% expressing willingness to adopt biological control. The second webinar had 98 attendees, with a 14.2% knowledge gain and 98% indicating readiness to adopt biological control.

Publications