Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS
(N/A)
AMHERST,MA 01003
Performing Department
Dept: Stockbridge Sch of Agric
Non Technical Summary
Two decades ago, a cost-effective monitoring system for plum curculio, a significant pest of pome and stone fruit, was devised using a synergistic lure, termed the 'trap-tree' approach. However, due to high lure costs and limited accessibility, Northeast apple growers have not widely adopted this IPM method. Since 2018, the research team has developed a grower-friendly, lure-free, trap cropping system involving grafting six pest-attractive apple cultivars on selected perimeter-row trees. Multi-cultivar-grafted trees serve as permanent trap trees, offering nearly zero-cost enhanced monitoring of plum curculio, apple maggot fly, rosy apple aphid, and potentially other pests. The lure-based and grafting-based monitoring systems require validation and promotion among regional apple growers. The team is also crafting an integrated system targeting adult plum curculios with insecticides on trap trees and applying commercial entomopathogenic nematodes underneath trap trees to control immature stages of pests. The grower-supported Extension component aims to (1) conduct on-farm demonstrations for system validation in MA, NH, and CT, implementing biweekly pest alerts using monitoring data, (2) host hands-on grafting workshops in MA and NH, and (3) launch a targeted Extension program to increase community awareness of sustainable IPM and boost IPM adoption by growers. The research component assesses native species of entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi in participating apple orchards. The overall goal is to enhance effective, grower-friendly monitoring tools for selected apple insect pests and evaluate biological control using EPNs to manage multiple pests in the soil. Research and Extension efforts support ecologically based, low-cost IPM approaches, aiming to reduce off-farm inputs for sustainable crop production, documenting short- and mid-term outcomes, and impacting the apple grower community in New England.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
Objective 1(EXTENSION):To validate monitoring systems for plum curculio (PC), apple maggot fly (AMF), and rosy appleaphid (RAA) that are based on synthetic lures and multi-cultivar grafted trees, and to establish pest alerts.This objective will facilitate the on-farm demonstration of methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil = MeSA)+ grandisoic acid (GA), the PC aggregation pheromone as an effective PC lure, and the refinement of a permanent monitoring system involving multi-cultivar grafted trees serving as trap crops over 3 years.Anticipated impact: The dual (i.e., PC lures, multi-cultivar grafted trees) monitoring system will aid growers in determining the need and timing of insecticide applications against PC, RAA, and AMF.Objective 2 (EXTENSION): To foster the adoption of multi-cultivar grafting as a pest monitoring tool by implementing grafting workshops in NH and MA.Anticipated impact: Ourmulti-faceted Extension efforts largely involving grafting workshops that provide free scionwood to growers seek to document short- and mid-term outcomes and impacts (e.g., grower adoption of grafted trees as permanent, grower-friendly monitoring sites).Objective 3 (RESEARCH): To characterize the occurrence of native EPNs and EPF and the efficacy and persistence of commercial EPNs in orchards with multi-cultivar-grafted trees.Anticipated impact: The research component of the project will result in new science-based knowledge concerning (1) the potential occurrence and virulence of native EPNs and EPF inhabiting soil in areas with multi-cultivar grafting potentially supporting suppressive soils and (2) whether a single application of commercial EPNs applied against PC can also suppress AMF in the soil at a different time of the year.Objective 4 (EXTENSION): To implement a focused Extension program for delivery of outputs among growers and Extension personnel and measurement of impacts, and to increase grower engagement.Anticipated impact: See Logic Model. Short-term outcomes: 80% of the growers reached will increase their level of knowledge and awareness of grafting as a novel monitoring tool for PC, AMF, and RAA. We expect our grower cooperators to become comfortable with the practices being demonstrated. The team will continue to build relationships with current and new grower collaborators. Mid-term outcomes: By the end of the project, we expect 25 new growers to implement pest monitoring in one of the two ways we are recommending (using lures and using grafted trees), and at least 15 growers to adopt multi-cultivar grafting as a tool to develop permanent pest monitoring sites. Long-term outcomes. While the documentation of long-term outcomes is beyond the scope and timeframe of this project, efforts will be made to document (i) improved monitoring of PC and AMF using lures or multi-cultivar grafted trees, (ii) at least 25% reduction in pesticide use because using lures or grafted trees is expected to result in more effective pest monitoring, and (iii) cost-savings for growers associated with reduced amounts and/or frequency of insecticides applied against the target pests.
Project Methods
Objective 1 (EXTENSION): To develop a monitoring system for three apple pests (PC, AMF, RAA) using grower-friendly tools (synthetic lures and/or multi-cultivar grafted trees).For plum curculio (PC), the team will implement the trap-tree approach with 2 modalities: (1) using the synergistic MeSA+GA lure and (2) using multi-cultivar grafted trees. The odor-baited trap tree approach for PC monitoring will be implemented at 12 farms (7 in MA, 1 in ME, 1 in CT, and 3 in NH). The monitoring approach calls for an insecticide spray when a threshold of 1 fresh egg-laying scar per 25 fruit is reached.The PC monitoring system involving multi-cultivar grafted trees will be conducted in 8 farms (6 in MA, 2 in NH) and the protocol will be similar to the one involving lures, except that 7-8 king fruits of the following cultivars will be flagged to generate the 25 designated fruits per grafted tree: Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, and Liberty. If any of these cultivars are absent due to biennial blooming, they will be replaced with Ginger Gold.RAA monitoring. We will monitor for RAA starting in early April in the same 8 orchards used for PC monitoring. A protocol has been developed to assess weekly incidence (presence/absence), colony size, and presence and abundance of predatory and parasitic insects by cultivar in grafted trees versus non-grafted trees.AMF monitoring. To be done using multi-cultivar grafted trees in the same 8 orchards. We will use unbaited red sticky spheres to record weekly trap-capture data from early June to mid-September, each year. AMF captures recorded in grafted trees will be compared to those in non-grafted trees. The action threshold for application of insecticide is an average of 2 AMF accumulated per trap per week.Pest alerts will be sent to 150 growers weeklyfrom early April to late August.Objective 2 (EXTENSION): To foster the adoption of multi-cultivar grafting as a pest monitoring tool by apple growers in New England.The University of New Hampshire Extension and UMass Extension will partner to offer two half-day grafting workshops (on years 1 and 3) aimed at providing apple growers with tools and skills needed for them to graft multiple cultivars and eventually to implement monitoring tools for PC and AMF. These workshops will take place in NH and MA.Participants will practice grafting, learn by doing, and participate in group education on important aspects of successfully grafting onto existing trees.Each grower who has conducted grafting for the past 4 years will receive two banners (60 x 110 cm) to be displayed at their farm. One banner will promote IPM in general, and the second one will describe the project (developing permanent trap crops using pest-attractive cultivars) highlighting the efficacy of the system to determine the need and timing of insecticide applications against key pests. We expect to provide 25 IPM banners describing the project to growers and acknowledging NIFA's support.Objective 3 (RESEARCH): To characterize the occurrence of native EPNs and EPF and the efficacy and persistence of commercial EPNs in orchards with multi-cultivar-grafted trees.We seek to quantify the presence and abundance of native species/strains of EPNs and EPF in soil samples from underneath experimental trees represented by (1) perimeter-row multi-cultivar grafted trees (which year after year get significantly more injury by multiple pests) (2) perimeter-row non-grafted trees (less pest injury), (3) interior-block trees (minimal pest injury) and (4) unmanaged trees (positive control with the greatest levels of pest injury.The team will also assess the efficacy and persistence of a single application of commercial EPNs (S. riobrave and S. carpocapsae) against PC immature stages in early July and their subsequent efficacy against AMF larvae/pupae in late August.3.1 occurrence of native EPNs and EPF.Collection of soil samples. Six MA orchards that have trees grafted with 6 cultivars in 2018 and 2019 will be selected for this research.The soil samples will be collected at three different intervals: mid-June, early August, and early September of 2026. At each sampling, we will record the number of PC larvae/pupae and other insect pests found in each sample, to compare pest densities among the four treatments.EPNs and EPF isolation using Galleria mellonella. EPNs and EPF will be recovered from field-collected soil samples using the "Galleria-bait method" (Bedding and Akhurst, 1975).Morphological and morphometric characterization of EPNs and EPF.DNA extraction and molecular identification of EPNs and EPF.EPN virulence bioassays in laboratory conditions against PC and AMF.EPF virulence bioassay in laboratory conditions against PC and AMF.3.2 Efficacy and persistence of commercial EPNs.This experiment will be conducted in four commercial orchard blocks in MA with large (M.9) or medium-size (M.26) apple trees using PC and AMF larvae instead of wax moth larvae to evaluate EPN efficacy and persistence against the target apple pests.?Experimental protocol. For each of the four experimental blocks, we will select four perimeter-row apple trees medium (G.9) for a total of 16 trees. The area underneath each canopy will be divided into three sub-areas (S. riobrave, S. carpocapsae, and control). One-hundred PC larvae will be placed underneath each sub-area. Each EPN species will be applied using 3.78 L of water, and the same amount of water alone was applied to the control sub-area. After treatment application, pyramidal emergence cages (1 x 1 m at the base) made of PVC and steel screen will be secured on the ground (Piñero et al. 2020) covering the fruit. A plastic conical device topping each cage will permit the capture of adult PCs that, upon adult emergence, will walk upward on the interior surface of the capturing device. To preserve soil moisture, 3.78 L of water will be added to each experimental area three days after EPN application. The emergence of adult PCs from the experimental cages will be recorded twice a week for 5 weeks starting 2 weeks after EPN application. To assess EPN persistence, 100 AMF larvae will be placed in the same experimental areas, underneath the emergence cages, in late August. Given that the AMF pupae to be used will be of wild origin and they will enter diapause, we will collect and transport soil from the field for pupae inspection and determination of EPN infections. We will use White traps to confirm Koch's postulates and samples of EPNs will be identified to the species level using the molecular technique described to confirm the presence of S. riobrave and/or S. carpocapsae (or a different EPN species).Objective 4 (EXTENSION): To implement a focused Extension program for delivery of outputs from the entire project among growers and Extension personnel and measurement of impacts, and to increase grower engagement.Research results will be disseminated to large and diverse (organic, conventional) groups of growers and technical advisors (see Logic Model). Over a 3-year period, we will reach at least 450 farmers (direct and indirect contacts) throughout New England. Research findings will be disseminated among the academic community nationally (entomological conferences) and internationally (2025 International IPM Symposium). The IPM consultant will support the recruitment of additional growers who may become interested in participating in ant of the first three objectives, will also contribute to the collection of pest injury data (harvest surveys) at some participant orchards, and will contribute with the preparation of information for reports. ?