Grant Information
| Knowledge Area | Subject of Investigation | Field of Science | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 215 - Biological Control of Pests Affecting Plants | 1099 - Tropical/subtropical fruit, general/other | 1130 - Entomology and acarology | 100% |
California, on average, has approximately 9 new species of arthropod establishing in the state each year. Some of these new arrivals become significant pests (e.g., Asian citrus psyllid, brown marmorated stink bug, and gold spotted oak borer). One possible reason that these exotic organisms become invasive and pestiferous is their escape from natural enemies that co-evolved with them in their home range. These natural enemies (e.g., predators, parasites, and pathogens) regulatepopulations in the native range by using the organism for food. Classical biological control reassociates invasive pests with host specific natural enemies collected from the home range of the pest. Successful pest suppression with natural enemies reduces reliance on pesticides for controlling pests, promotes sustainable pest management (e.g., natural enemies are important components of Integrated Pest Management programs in agriculture), and in some instances this may be the only tool available for reducing pest populations to less damaging levels (e.g., control of pests degrading wilderness areas where pesticides can't be used).
In consultation with academic colleagues, regulatory agencies (e.g., CDFA, USDA-APHIS, USDA-ARS, and USDA-FS), and end users (growers, natural areas managers, or the public), exotic targets for classical biological control in California will be identified, and if warranted, projects will be initiated to suppress invasive pests using natural enemies. Natural enemies will be prospected for in the pest's home range, promising candidates will be imported in the UC Riverside Insectary and Quarantine Facility and subjected to safety testing. Should the results of quarantine work prove encouraging, collected data and a petition to release from quarantine will be presented to CDFA, USDA-APHIS, and NAPPOfor review. Should these three agencies collectively agree thatcandidate natural enemies are promising, and appear to be safe, a request to move the natural enemies into less secure surroundings for eventual mass rearing and establishment in California. If permission to release from quarantine is granted by regulatory agencies, large scale releases of natural enemies will begin across the infested habitat. Once releases have begun, monitoring for natural enemy establishment in the receiving ecosystem (e.g., an avocado or citrus orchard, or back yard gardens) will begin, and the impact on the target pest population will be carefully monitored (e.g., life table studies). In addition, non-target impacts on native species will be assessed as part of the impact monitoring program to demonstrate that safety testing completed in quarantine was accurate. When taken together, these data can be used to document the impact the natural enemy has on the target pest, the safety of the organism towards desirable non-target species, and the economic savings that accrue because the project has significantly reduced pesticide usage, labor, and crop or environmental damage.
Target Audience
Target audiences for this work have been California's citrus (ACP and Argentine ant), palm (SAPW), grape and nut farmers (BMSB). Information on these pests (i.e., identification, biology/ecology, and control) has been widely disseminated to numerous end users (e.g., CAPCA, PAPA, Master Gardeners, citrus/date/nut/grape producers, homeowners, and specialty groups (e.g., organic grower clubs, rare fruit producers). Target penetration and audience diversity was amplified via the use of social media, web sites, and TV/radio/newspaper/magazine/e-zine interviews. ?
Changes / Problems
No major problems or changes to these projects have been encountered or made.
Training & Professional Development
These projects have provided training for 1 Ph.D. student, 4 post-graduate researchers, and two research specialists. Talks on ACP, Argentine ants, and SAPW were given at meetings for continuing education credits and at workshops/conferences organized by CDFA, PAPA, and CAPCA. Additional training workshops were run in collaboration with commodity groups (e.g., California Avocado Commission, Citrus Research Board, California date producers, and CDFA) targeting specific pest management training needs (e.g., field identification and control of ACP, BMSB, Argentine ant, and SAPW).
Dissemination Streams
(1) Talks at public meetings - more than 35 presentations to affected stakeholders (internationally and domestically) were made in 2016 on these pests and the research findings aimed at alleviating these issues. (2) Media - more than 25 interviews were given to newspapers, trade and professional magazines, radio (including National Public Radio), and TV (on these invasive pest problems and progress towards addressing these issues). (3) Websites in the form of web pages or blog posts on http://cisr.ucr.edu or www.biocontrol.ucr.edu were used to update stakeholders on invasive pest problems and the latest research findings on these pests and their management. (4) Outreach aids (display boxes, posters, pinned and pickled specimens) were made to teach clients how to recognize and identify adults and immature stages of ACP, BMSB, and SAPW. (5) Articles were written and published in trade magazines e.g., CAPCA Adviser, Citrograph, on invasive pests, monitoring strategies, and biological control options. ?
Next Reporting Steps
During the upcoming reporting period my lab will continue to work steadily on meeting the objectives of this project which is supported largely by funds from grower groups. These projects on ACP, Argentine ant, BMSB, and South American palm weevil currently have a lot of momentum and support from Federal, State, and stakeholder groups (e.g., citrus, producers). Specifically, work will continue on biocontrol of ACP and monitoring the spread and impact of natural enemies on this pest. Conservation biocontrol projects for ACP natural enemies will be continued. Argentine ant control work will continue to assess in commercial citrus orchards the efficacy of biodegradable hydrogel beads. Additionally, work will commence on the development of sensors that will "count" ants in citrus orchards so growers don't have to do this boring and time consuming chore. Automated count data has the potential to significantly improve ant management in citrus orchards. Work on the phenology of SAPW, its rate of spread and distribution will continue. There is the potential for developing a biocontrol program targeting this pest with parasitic flies from Brazil. Finally, it is anticipated that the safety testing work in quarantine of the Chinese egg parasitoid, the key BMSB natural enemy in the home range of this pest, will be completed. ?
Target Audience
Target audiences for the research products resulting from this work include: 1) Commodities affected by invasive insect pests that are targets of classical biological control (e.g, Asian citrus psyllid for the California citrus industry) 2) Professional pest managers (e.g., California Association of Professional Pest Control Advisers [CAPCA], Pesticide Applicators Professional Association [PAPA]) 3) University of California Cooperative Extension personnel and UC Master Gardeners 4) The public (via TV, radio, and newspaper interviews, web-based resources) and California legislators and regulatory agencies (e.g., California Department of Pesticide Regulations) ?
Changes / Problems
Nothing Reported
Training & Professional Development
This project has trained three Ph.D. students, 1 MS student, provided research and project management experience to about 5 post-doctoral researchers. Additionally, at least 7 undergraduate students have been employed (either paid or worked for undergraduate research credits) to work on aspects of the Asian citrus psyllid or palm weevil projects. Ph.D., M.S., and post-docs contributed to professional meetings, gave talks at numerous extension events (e.g., CAPCA, PAPA, UC Master Gardener, California Rare Fruit Growers, and Commodity Board [e.g., Citrus and Dates) meetings. Further, numerous web pages (about 5) were prepared for www.bicontrol.ucr.edu and www.cisr.ucr.edu and articles (around 15) were written for trade magazines (e.g., Citrograph, CAPCA Adviser). Personnel involved with this project also contributed to media interviews with aspects of our work being shared with the public via radio, TV, newspaper, and trade magazines (about 50 interviews). ?
Dissemination Streams
This project has aggressively disseminated pertinent research findings to end users via a variety of conduits, including but not limited to: 1) Web pages on websites that this project maintains: www.biocontrol.ucr.edu and www.cisr.ucr.edu An example of this effort on the Asian citrus psyllid biocontrol project is available here:https://biocontrol.ucr.edu/asian_citrus_psyllid.html 2) Personnel associated with this project have given talks (n = 8) at professional meetings (e.g., the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America) 3)Personnel associated with this project have given talks (n = 20) at extension/grower meetings. 4)Personnel associated with this project have written articles (n = 15) for trade magazines (e.g., Citrograph, CAPCA Adviser) 5)Personnel associated with this project have given interviews (n = 50) to various media outlets (e.g., Radio, TV, newspapers, trade magazines) ?
Next Reporting Steps
Nothing Reported
<br><br>
<br>What was accomplished under these goals? Work conducted as part of this project has and will accomplish the following: Activities: Foreign exploration for natural enemies to be used in the classical biological control of exotic insect pests affecting agricultural, wilderness, or urban areas. Natural enemies collected overseas will be subject to host specificity and host range testing in quarantine prior to release and establishment in California. Field experiments will be conducted to assess pest and natural enemy phenology through time and across replicated field sites. Natural enemy impacts on target pest populations will be assessed (e.g., through the use of life tables). These data will be subjected to statistical analyses and published in peer reviewed journals. These research projects will be used to provide mentoring/teaching/instructional opportunities to undergraduate, and graduate students, and post-graduate researchers. Events: Results from research will be extended to end users via workshops, meetings, and symposia. For example, CaliforniaPest Control Advisor (CAPCA)conferences with CE credits are excellent for this type of outreach. Pest and natural enemy monitoring programs can be demonstrated through field days (e.g., workshops demonstrating presence-absence sampling for pest mites on avocados have been conducted for California avocado growers. Products: Output from this work will be in the form of trade article magazines targeting specific commodities (e.g., Citrograph for the California citrus industry or articles for the California Avocado Society Yearbook), blogs, vlogs, web pages, and factsheets on pests and natural enemies (e.g., www.cisr.ucr.edu and www.biocontrol.ucr.edu) . Information is also relayed to the public via media (e.g., newspaper, radio, and TV interviews, e-zines, etc). ? <br><br><b>Publications</b><br>
Target Audience
Target audiences for this work have been California's citrus (Asian Citrus Psyllid and Argentine ant), palm (South American Palm Weevil), grape and nut farmers (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug). Information on these pests (i.e., identification, biology/ecology, and control) has been widely disseminated to numerous end users (e.g., CAPCA, PAPA, Master Gardeners, citrus/date/nut/grape producers, homeowners, and specialty groups (e.g., organic grower clubs, rare fruit producers). Target penetration and audience diversity was amplified via the use of social media, web sites, and TV/radio/newspaper/magazine/e-zine interviews.
Changes / Problems
These projects have not encountered any significant problems nor have they undergone any major changes.
Training & Professional Development
These projects have provided training for 1 Ph.D. student, 4 post-graduate researchers, and two research specialists. Talks on ACP, Argentine ants, and SAPW were given at meetings for continuing education credits and at workshops/conferences organized by CDFA, PAPA, and CAPCA. Additional training workshops were run in collaboration with commodity groups (e.g., California Avocado Commission, Citrus Research Board, California date producers, and CDFA) targeting specific pest management training needs (e.g., field identification and control of ACP, BMSB, Argentine ant, and SAPW). ?
Dissemination Streams
(1) Talks at public meetings - more than 35 presentations to affected stakeholders (internationally and domestically) were made in 2016 on these pests and the research findings aimed at alleviating these issues. (2) Media - more than 25 interviews were given to newspapers, trade and professional magazines, radio (including National Public Radio), and TV (on these invasive pest problems and progress towards addressing these issues). (3) Websites in the form of web pages or blog posts on http://cisr.ucr.edu or www.biocontrol.ucr.edu were used to update stakeholders on invasive pest problems and the latest research findings on these pests and their management. (4) Outreach aids (display boxes, posters, pinned and pickled specimens) were made to teach clients how to recognize and identify adults and immature stages of ACP, BMSB, and SAPW. (5) Articles were written and published in trade magazines e.g., CAPCA Adviser, Citrograph, on invasive pests, monitoring strategies, and biological control options. ?
Next Reporting Steps
During the upcoming reporting period my lab will continue to work steadily on meeting the objectives of this RSAP project which is supported largely by funds from grower groups. These projects on ACP, Argentine ant, BMSB, and SAPW currently have a lot of momentum and support from Federal, State, and stakeholder groups (e.g., citrus, date, pistachio, and table grape producers). Specifically, work will continue on biocontrol of ACP and monitoring the spread and impact of natural enemies on this pest. Conservation biocontrol projects for ACP natural enemies will be initiated. Argentine ant control work will assess in commercial citrus orchards the efficacy of biodegradable hydrogel beads. Additionally, work will commence on the development of sensors that will "count" ants in citrus orchards so growers don't have to do this boring and time consuming chore. Automated count data has the potential to significantly improve ant management in citrus orchards. Work on the phenology of SAPW, its rate of spread and distribution will continue. Finally, it is anticipated that the safety testing work in quarantine of the Chinese egg parasitoid, the key BMSB natural enemy in the home range of this pest, will be completed. <br><br>
<br>What was accomplished under these goals? Outcomes from work in this reporting period were significant. Populations of a significant new pest, the South American palm weevil (SAPW), were detected in San Diego County in 2016. In collaboration with numerous colleagues, work has begun to delineate the spread of this pest in San Diego County, a monitoring program has begun to better understand the population phenology of this pest, and flight mill studies in quarantine have been initiated to assess the dispersal capacity of male and female weevils. This invasive weevil poses and unprecedented threat to California's iconic ornamental palms and to the date industry. Major progress continues to be made on Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) biological control with parasitoids imported from the Pakistan Punjab. One species, Tamarixia radiata, has been released in southern California. More than 2,750,000 parasitoids have been released at about >1,500 different sites, and it is estimated that establishment has occurred at about 98% of monitored sites (these include release sites, and non-release sites that T. radiata invaded). The ongoing impacts that this parasitoid is having on ACP populations are being monitored at ~15 sites in southern California and these long term phenology studies are nearing completion. Additionally, establishment and spread of T. radiata in the Central Valley, the largest citrus producing area in California, is being monitored. ACP populations are being detected with increasing frequency in Central Valley, and T. radiata releases have commenced in an effort to slow ACP population build up and spread. Aspects of the developmental biology under constant and fluctuating temperatures is being assessed to better understand the citrus growing areas in California that T. radiata could be expected to establish in. Work is ongoing with a second ACP parasitoid, Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis, also imported from the Pakistan Punjab. Approximately 75,000 D. aligarhensis have been released in southern California for ACP biocontrol. Recoveries have been made at about 15 sites, including backyard citrus and organic citrus orchards. One parasitoid was collected about 6 miles from the nearest release site in Pasadena California. Aspects of the developmental biology under constant and fluctuating temperatures is being assessed to better understand the citrus growing areas in California that D. aligarhensis could be expected to establish in. The impacts that invasive Argentine ant has on ACP biocontrol is being assessed. Studies indicate that when ants are present on citrus trees biocontrol of citrus pests declines significantly. If ant populations are eliminated or significantly reduced, pest populations decline markedly because ants are not protecting these sugar producing insects from their natural enemies. Alternative ant control strategies are being assessed, in particular the efficacy of biodegradable hydrogels. Hydrogel beads form a matrix that holds 25% sucrose solution and ultra-low concentrations of insecticides. Ants drink from these small beads, return the poison to the nest thereby killing workmates and the queen. Preliminary field trials have produced very promising results and application in commercial citrus orchards is anticipated. Work on the biological control of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) commenced in mid-2014 and current work is focused on assessing the host range of egg parasitoids imported from China and conducting pheromone trapping to delineate the distribution of this pest in California. This host range and host specificity work is being conducted in cooperation with the USDA-ARS Beneficial Insects Laboratory in Newark Delaware. Work has been completed on assessing the vulnerability of pistachios and kiwi fruit to BMSB feeding. Quarantine studies indicated that this pest will readily feed on developing pistachio nuts and kiwi fruit. <br><br><b>Publications</b><br>
Target Audience
Target audiences for this work have been California's citrus (Asian citrus psyllid), grape, and nut farmers (brown marmorated stink bug). During this time 1 Ph.D. and 1 MS student have been trained in biological control of Asian citrus psyllid. Four post-graduate researchers have been trained on the biological control of gold spotted oak borer, Asian citrus psyllid, glassy-winged sharpshooter, and brown marmorated stink bug. Classes on these invasive pests have been given to undergraduates and graduate students at the University of California, Riverside. Instructional workshops and seminars were given on Asian citrus psyllid, and brown marmorated stink bug monitoring and biocontrol. Numerous talks on these topics have been given to professional societies, grower organizations, professional pest managers, and the public. Other outlets have included trade magazines, TV, radio, and newspaper interviews and TV shows, blogs, web pages, and social media.
Changes / Problems
We have encountered no major problems, nor have we deviated significantly from our current research plan. We are on track to meet all of our project objectives.
Training & Professional Development
During this time 1 Ph.D. and 1 MS student have been trained in biological control of Asian citrus psyllid. Four post-graduate researchers have been trained on the biological control of Asian citrus psyllid, glassy-winged sharpshooter, and brown marmorated stink bug. Classes on these invasive pests have been given to undergraduates and graduate students at the University of California, Riverside. Instructional workshops and seminars were given on Asian citrus psyllid, and brown marmorated stink bug monitoring and biocontrol.
Dissemination Streams
Numerous talks on these topics have been given to professional societies, grower organizations, professional pest managers, and the public. Other outlets have included trade magazines, TV, radio, and newspaper interviews and TV shows, blogs, web pages, and social media. For example, we have developed and maintain very active outreach programs that involved talks at meetings of Master Gardeners, CAPCA, PAPA, California Horticultural Clubs and a variety of professional society meetings (e.g., Entomological Society of America). We also contribute regularly to trade magazines like CAPCA Adviser and Citrogrpah. We maintain two websites where blogs and research summaries are posted: www.biocontrol.ucr.edu www.cisr.ucr.edu
Next Reporting Steps
We plan to continue our current level of research productivity targeting the biological control of Asian citrus psyllid and brown marmorated stink bug. <br><br>
<br>What was accomplished under these goals? Indigenous natural enemy surveys have been conducted for two invasive pests, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) in southern California. BMSB is a highly polyphagous and destructive pest native to China. ACP vectors a bacterium that causes a lethal and incurable citrus disease, huanglongbing (HLB). In quarantine at UC Riverside, native stink bug egg parasitoids have been studied to determine their preferences for BMSB eggs when compared to eggs produced by native California stink bug species. Life table and videography studies assessing natural enemy impacts on cohorts of ACP nymphs have determined that generalist predators (especially lacewing and syrphid fly larvae) are important biocontrol agents and ~60% of predation events happen at night and these have been recorded with infrared videography. <br><br><b>Publications</b><br>