Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE submitted to NRP
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF THE HARRISIA CACTUS MEALYBUG IN PUERTO RICO
Sponsoring Institution
Agricultural Research Service/USDA
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
USDA COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0435614
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2019
Project End Date
Jun 20, 2021
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
(N/A)
RIVERSIDE,CA 92521
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
(N/A)
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
21507101130100%
Knowledge Area
215 - Biological Control of Pests Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
0710 - Desert and semidesert shrub land and shinnery;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
1) Contribute to surveys for natural enemies of Hypogeococcus spp. 2) Collect parasitoid specimens during surveys for identification. 3) Describe and identify parasitoids of Hypogeococcus spp. collected by collaborators in South America, Puerto Rico, and other locations where the pest occurs.
Project Methods
Activities proposed in this project will support a biological control program against the Harrisia cactus mealybug, a serious pest of columnar cactus in Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands, and potentially North America. This work builds on previous and continuing work conducted by collaborators to identify, describe, and segregate members of the Harrisia cactus mealybug species complex, survey for and identify promising natural enemies, and export potential biological control agents to Puerto Rico for quarantine host range testing. In addition, this proposal builds on work conducted over the past year by collaborators at the Puerto Rico quarantine facility to prepare for the arrival of Argentine parasitoid species.