Foliar sprays of insecticides timed to citrus flushing provided a significant reduction in Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations compared to standard pest management practices, researcher Jawwad Qureshi reported. Timing sprays to flushing also led to a reduction in sprays, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor of entomology said in a virtual presentation on Feb. 22. Qureshi …
Citrus Pest Management Workshop Scheduled
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will hold a workshop on citrus insect, mite and nematode management Jan. 19 at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presentations will be made by UF/IFAS faculty members. UF/IFAS pointed out that pest management in citrus …
Integrated Pest Management of Chilli Thrips in Strawberries
By Sriyanka Lahiri Currently, strawberry production in Florida is particularly susceptible to infestation by chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis). Although chilli thrips had been reported as a pest of ornamentals in Florida before, it wasn’t until 2015 when strawberry fields started to be severely impacted by this invasive pest. CHEMICAL CONTROLSChemical control is the predominant tool to manage chilli thrips. However, …
Spotlight: Arthropod Pest Management in Conventional Strawberry Production
By Sriyanka Lahiri Thrips Crop rescue through a well-planned pesticide rotation program currently remains the most effective method of pest management in conventionally grown strawberries. However, close monitoring for pests should be conducted as the first line of defense, especially since most strawberry pests are not visible through unaided vision. Flower thrips immatures and adults can feed on the fruit …
Arthropod Pest Management in Conventional Strawberry Production
By Sriyanka Lahiri Crop rescue through a well-planned pesticide rotation program currently remains the most effective method of pest management in conventionally grown strawberries. However, close monitoring for pests should be conducted as the first line of defense, especially since most strawberry pests are not visible through unaided vision. Thrips Flower thrips immatures and adults can feed on the fruit …
New UF Researcher Brings Latest Research Techniques for Integrated Pest Management
By: Robin Koestoyo, Koestoyo@ufl.edu FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The first time Tolulope Morawo heard about the ability of beneficial insects to protect food crops from pest insects, he knew he had found his lifelong career. In 2009, Morawo learned from a lecture that phorid flies kill fire ants by laying their eggs inside the ants. When the next generation …
UF/IFAS Researchers Honored for Avocado Integrated Pest Management
University of Florida (UF) officials recognized a team of research scientists with a High Impact Research Publication award for an article published in the May 2018 edition of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, an international scholarly science journal. The publication, “Identification of the Achilles heels of the laurel wilt pathogen and its beetle vector,” introduces new pest management tactics for South …
Irrigation Influences Pest Management
Water is one of the most critical issues in the modern agricultural world. “We need to conserve water,” says Ayanava Majumdar, an Extension entomologist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Majumdar has been looking at how irrigation can impact pest management. “Irrigation is related to plant health, which is related to … pests and how well your plants resist those …
Integrated Pest Management for Spotted Wing Drosophila
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative allows researchers in many parts of the United States to help find organic management strategies for devastating pests in their area. Ashfaq Sial, assistant professor at the University of Georgia, said he is using this initiative to research the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), …
Neopestalotiopsis Disease Management Update
By Natalia A. Peres and Vance Whitaker As the Florida strawberry season comes to an end, it is a good time to reflect on what has been learned over the past five years about managing the emerging disease caused by the fungus Neopestalotiopsis sp. This fungus has been present for as long as strawberries have been grown but was considered …