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INVESTIGATOR: Addesso, K.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
3500 JOHN A. MERRITT BLVD
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37209

BEHAVIORAL-BASED CONTROL METHODS FOR AMBROSIA BEETLE MANAGEMENT IN ORNAMENTAL NURSERIES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Nursery and greenhouse crops account for $16 billion of the United States economy. The nursery industry is complex due to the large number of plant species grown, which makes nursery pest management research challenging. Pests that have large economic impacts, attack multiple, high production genera and are quarantine restricted are key targets for research. One major problem impacting the nursery industry today is ambrosia beetles. These beetles feed and reproduce within living or dead trees. The beetles are difficult to control with conventional pesticides, and in the nursery industry, even cosmetic damage from the beetles can result in trees that are unsalable. The overall goal of this project is to investigate new tools for the integrated management of ambrosia beetles in nursery crops. The three areas of inquiry include (1) the identification of new attractants and repellents, (2) applications of the plant defensive hormones methyl salicylate or methyl jasmonate as nursery tree protective treatments, and (3) the recruitment of predators into nursery stands as a biological control option. These objectives will be accomplished through field and laboratory assays conducted at Tennessee State University's Nursery Research Center, located at the center of Tennessee's nursery production industry. The availability of additional management approaches based on any combination of attractants, repellents, plant hormone treatments and natural enemy augmentation will move the nursery industry toward an integrated approach to ambrosia beetle management and away from sole reliance on conventional pesticides.

OBJECTIVES: The overall goal of this research program is to increase understanding of the behavior and chemical ecology of important ambrosia beetle species, their host plants and predators. This goal will be achieved by investigating three objectives. 1. Identification of attractive and repellent compounds for use in ambrosia beetle management. 2. Effect of plant defensive hormone treatments on ambrosia beetle attacks and plant health. 3. Recruitment of ambrosia beetle predators into nursery stands.