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

Outputs
Target Audience:The WVU Extension Implmentation Program targets commercial fruit orchardists, small farm producers, vegetable growers, Master Gardeners, county agents, producers, and home owners/backyard gardeners. During the reporting period we have reached over 4,000target audience individuals which included participants from the above groups. The target audience were mostly from West Virginia but included few from the neighboring states of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Efforts included on-site visits at grower locations, classroom education, demonstrations, displays, field-days, workshops, distance education, and training, along with dissemination of information through various extension publications. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We set up two additional display booths at two popular farm markets in the Eastern Panhandle that attract consumers from the tri-state area. Information displayed in these booths will be geared towards educating an average consumer on IPM awareness. We also set up IPM Display booth at the Small Farm Conference at the Charleston Civic Center in 2025. A two-day hands-on IPM training workshop and Pest Diagnostics Clinic were organized to train new county agents. Training included identification of invasive and emergent pests, management updates in all disciplines, and hands-on IPM activities such as grafting and pest/beneficial insect ID. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We publishedthe "IPM Chronicle" Newsletter, and carried "Ag Alerts" and the "ANR Hot Topics" program. IPM Display booths wereset up at the Small Farm Conference. A booklet on IPM approach to manage Invasives "How to Deal with Invasives Without Making Them Worse" authored by K. Cox and R. Chandran, was published in collaboration with the WV Local Technical Assistance Program. This will be circulated to the State Department of Highways field personnel and other professionals engaged in right-of-way and other land management. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1. IPM Implementation and Evaluation in Commercial Tree Fruit Production Tree fruit will be monitored for insect pests, diseases, and weeds. Weather stations will be used to help make IPM decisions. Objective 2. IPM Implementation and Evaluation in Other Specialty Crops We will work with additional growers asking for more information on the use of beneficial insects and biological control agents. Demonstration gardens/landscapes will be maintained at the WV State Fair Grounds in Greenbrier County. We will monitor the success of disease resistant tomatoes released through our program and provide other IPM support for disease management. We will monitor insect pest activity in field/row crop pests in Jackson, Randolph and Monongalia Counties, WV. Biofix dates and/or weekly trap captures for all insect pests will be emailed to growers and extension agents. We will continue to publish the "IPM Chronicle" carry out "Ag Alerts" and the "ANR Hot Topics" program. IPM Display booths will be set up at the West Virginia State Fair, and various other events. We will promote the IPM brochure through various avenues to the end users. Secondary Priority Area: IPM Support for Diagnostic Facilities We will continue to provide various diagnostic services as outlined in the proposal.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. IPM Implementation and Evaluation in Commercial Tree Fruit Production Insect Pests. We calculated biofix dates and trapped Coding moth weekly during the growing season at WVU animal husbandry farm in Morgantown, Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center and Shanholtz farm. We recommended insecticide applications when captures in pheromone traps exceed the threshold of 5 codling moths/trap/week. Results were sent through email in our bi-weekly newsletter, Orchard Updates. This information helps growers to decide the best time for insecticide application to increase the efficacy of insecticides. Based on our past training, IPM practices implemented by the growers included application of pesticides based on threshold levels, use of semiochemicals and reduced-risk pesticides, partial application in orchards, along with application under proper environmental conditions. Plinazolin is a new insecticide that is in the final steps to obtain EPA registration. We evaluated the efficacy of Plinazolin on codling moth damage in apple. Diseases. We generated an apple fire blight forecast by using the data from weather stations placed in the fruit growing region of the state and shared the forecast with fruit growers that worked as a decision support system for their spray program. We performed an evaluation for relative susceptibility to major apple diseases: apple scab, cedar apple rust, fire blight, powdery mildew, and bitter rot. Due to early spring warming and erratic weather pattern, fruit trees are blooming early and continue for a longer time than normal. Necessary protection from pathogen infections has also been getting trickier. Decision support system provided by 'Network for Environment and Weather Applications' was used to track infection potential for fire blight and scab to time spray applications. Due to cooler weather later in the spring, infection potential was lower and thus two applications of bactericides and fungicides could be avoided in spring 2025. Demonstration of fungicide rotation in different schedules to manage bitter-rot of apple was conducted to raise awareness against resistance development in pathogen population and improve efficacy. Products included both single site and multi-site active products. Weeds: We monitored the emergence of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes in the fall of 2024; no new herbicide resistant biotypes were observed. Perennial weeds of concern continue to remain the same as in past years. We are currently evaluating an herbicide combination in forages that has the potential to be applied in orchards at the Kearnerysville Tree Fruit Station. IPM related to residential/consumer horticulture: We continue to provide training on IPM-related programming to hobby orchardists, Master Gardeners, commercial horticulture providers through Extension Master Gardener curricula (Tree Fruits, Small Fruits, Indoor Plants, Herbaceous Plants, Vegetable gardening, Disease Diagnostic and Management, An Introduction to Basic Entomology, IPM Principals, Pesticide Labels, Handling, Storage and Disposal) through the Extension Master Gardener Annual Conferences, participation in educational seminars for the WV Nursery and Landscape Association's professionals, and participation in seminars for the commercial pesticide applicators in ornamental, tree fruits, and small fruits industries. The orchard at the WVU farm in Morgantown has been a great platform to introduce Master Gardeners, horticultural students, and the public about hands-on IPM principles. Teach them about information gathering through scouting to use as a base for management decision making. Objective 2 (2A to 2C). IPM Implementation and Evaluation in Other Specialty Crops (Small Fruit and Vegetables) Small Fruit. A new disease 'Neo-pestalotiopsis' outbreak was confirmed on strawberry at the WVU plant diagnostic clinic, disease risk and IPM based management option was sent to county agents' listserv as 'AgAlerts' to share with small fruit growers. Resistance of anthracnose casing fungal pathogen Colletotrichum acutatum against QoI fungicide was detected in a strawberry grower's field. Based on this information, the grower used fungicides from a different FRAC group and got the disease under control. A demonstration of multiple Carbon sources for anaerobic soil disinfestation was conducted to find the most effective and economically feasible C-source for perennial strawberry production system. Both mustard seed meal and grape pomace suppressed soilborne diseases and there was no significant difference between these two. Grape pomace is a very inexpensive C-source compared to mustard seed meal indicating a higher chance of adoption by growers to use it as a C-source for ASD. A demonstration of improved IPM-based black rot management was conducted in two grower-collaborators' vineyards. IPM components included removal of infested plant debris and pruning of mummified diseased berries with infected vines, application of lime sulfur before budbreak and application of fungicides at the early stage after new growth when most infections take place. One grower cooperator could not harvest grapes due to extreme severity of black rot before this demonstration work. Due to the implementation of this IPM plan, he could harvest 90% of the berries disease free. Outreach activities could reach up to 80 clienteles who gained knowledge about these sustainable options of grape black rot management. Vegetable IPM: Monitoring data for major insect pests of sweetcorn. We monitored insect pests in sweetcorn in Jackson and Monongalia Counties. Insect pests included corn earworm, fall armyworm, and true armyworm. Pest alerts were not created because they were on acceptable numbers. High tunnel IPM: Several studies have reported the impacts of insect exclusion on insect pests. However, the impact of screens on natural enemies has been poorly studied. We conducted research to determine the impact of insect exclusion screens on natural enemies. Our findings will provide insight into this mechanical control tactic on natural populations of parasitoids and predators. Master gardeners and small growers were trained in the utilization of biological control agents for managing both foliar and soilborne diseases. An IPM guide is being developed for high tunnel growers that will include disease management options. Disease Resistant Tomato Seed Distribution. We distributed seeds of previously developed Septoria leaf spot tolerant tomato varieties. Our continued work on the development of tomato variety with high SLS resistance is at the final stage. Grafting tomatoes on resistant rootstock was demonstrated to county agents. Grafted plants were planted at the WVU certified organic farm to show the results to field day attendees later in the summer. Greenhouse and high tunnel powdery mildew control by UV-C and humidity management. We will demonstrate the results to the growers during the next reporting period as we are assembling a new fully automated robotic tool to carry UV-C light. Weed Management: We have identified a new herbicide mixture that could selectively control broadleaf weeds in cool-season grass pastures and hayfields without affecting desirable forages. A provisional patent was secured, and an industry partner signed a license agreement with WVU to develop and potentially market this technology by 2027. ?Secondary Priority: IPM Support for Diagnostic Facilities We continue to diagnose a high volume of plant specimens for various problems associated and IPM based recommendations were provided.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rahman, M. 2025. Identification and management of an emerging strawberry disease: Neopestalotiopsis leaf, fruit and crown rot. IPM chronicle Vol 14. Issue 1 (Pp1-2): WVU Extension Communications.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Enhancing Soil and Plant Health in Pursuit of Sustainable Agriculture. In: Dheeman, S., Islam, M.T., Egamberdieva, D., Siddiqui, M.N. (eds) Soil Bacteria. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3473-3_1
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Rahman, M. 2024. Identification and Management of Rose Rosette Disease. IPM chronicle Vol 12. Issue 2 (Pp6-7): WVU Extension Communications.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Chandran, R.S., M. Danilovich, C. Quesada, SM.M. Rahman. IPM Chronicle  Summer/Fall 2024. 12(2)1-7. West Virginia University Extension Service Publication
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Chandran, R.S., M. Danilovich, C. Quesada, M.M. Rahman. IPM Chronicle  Winter/Spring 2024. 12(1)1-6. West Virginia University Extension Service Publication
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Derr, J.F. and R.S. Chandran. 2024. Orchard Weed Control. In Pfeiffer, D. G. (Ed.), 2024 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Tree Fruit Growers. Va. Coop. Ext. Serv. Publ. 456-419.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Wallace, J., D. Lingenfelter, Q. Johnson, M. VanGessel, K. Vollmer, T. Besancon, M.L. Flessner, and R. S. Chandran. 2024. 2024 Mid-Atlantic Field Crop Weed Management Guide. The Pennsylvania State University AGRS-136.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Rahman, M. 2024. Management of Cercospora leaf spot of Swiss chard, beet and spinach. IPM chronicle Vol 12. Issue 1 (P3): WVU Extension Communications. https://extension.wvu.edu/files/d/9c4c9358-6d9d-41ddbe75-1b3c5764ac74/ipm-layout-winter-spring-2024_digital.pdf
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Das, S., Rahman, T., Rahman, M., Porter, L. D., Rahman, Md. M., Dash, P. K., & Kamal, Md. M. 2024. Characterization of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith) resistance in maize. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 125. https://doi.org/10.1080/03235408.2024.2415150
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: ? Surovy MZ, Dutta S, Mahmud NU, Gupta DR, Farhana T, Paul SK, Win J, Dunlap C, Oliva R, Rahman M, Sharpe AG and Islam T. 2024. Biological control potential of worrisome wheat blast disease by the seed endophytic bacilli. Front. Microbiol. 15:1336515; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1336515
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M. 2024: Factors influencing fruit set: Effect of cold temperature on tree fruit crops. IPM Chronicle. Volume 12.Issue 1. Winter/Spring. pp. 5 https://extension.wvu.edu/files/d/9c4c9358-6d9d-41dd-be75-1b3c5764ac74/ipm-layout-winter-spring-2024_digital.pdf
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M. 2024: Summer Drought and its Impact on Crops: Volume 13, Issue 2. Summer/Fall. pp. 1,2
• Type: Other Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2025 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M.2024: Bacterial Spot - Xanthomonas campestris, pv. Pruni (Smith) Dye. In print. https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/plant-disease/tree-fruit-disease/bacterial-spot
• Type: Websites Status: Submitted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M.2024: Peachtree Borers: Lesser Peachtree Borer and Greater Peachtree Borer. Submitted for print. https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/pests/peach-tree-borers
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M. 2024: Pear Rootstocks; https://extension.wvu.edu/agriculture/horticulture/pear-rootstocks
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: 4. Bulatovic-Danilovich, M.2024: Drought and crop production. WVU Extension experts discuss current drought conditions, potential effects on growing season. Media contact Tara Curtis, Director of Communications and Marketing. https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/media-center-blog?tags=Expert%20Pitches
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M.2024: The State Flower of West Virginia; Media Communications  Brian Bornes, West Virginia Day episode of WVU Energy Express, Episode 502: Individual segment: https://youtu.be/KdeqzAaSID4?si=jEA5yu_D26EUXSSr
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M. 2025: Soil Health: Soils-This is where everything begins! IPM Chronicle. Volume 13. Issue 1. Winter/Spring.
• Type: Other Status: Submitted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M.2025: Bulatovic-Danilovich, M. 2025: Cider Apple Fire Blight Susceptibility Rating.  In Print (Volume 13. Issue 2. Summer)