Enhance Tennessee's nursery and ornamental plant industry

Research to keep a major industry strong


Chemical Ecology of Ambrosia Beetles Attacking Nursery Trees

Management of Invasive Non-Indigenous and Key Insect Pests in Nursery Crops 

Identification of Plant Endophytes for Plant Protection Against Fungal Diseases, Pests and Environmental Stresses

Chemical Ecology of Ambrosia Beetles Attacking Nursery Trees
Dr. Karla Addesso
In the past few decades, more than a dozen exotic ambrosia beetle species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) have become established in the United States. Ambrosia beetles feed and reproduce within living or dead trees and wood products, making them difficult to detect and monitor. This cryptic lifestyle increases the risk of accidental introduction to new areas through the transportation of infested wood products and nursery stock. Beetle attacks can range in severity from minor cosmetic damage to tree death. In the nursery industry, even cosmetic damage can result in trees which are unsalable. Integrated pest management programs are the key to creating sustainable agriculture practices in the United States. In this area, the nursery industry lags behind vegetable and row crops due to the limitations of research funding for foundational and translational research on ornamental pest control. The nursery industry relies heavily on traditional pesticides for pest management with few alternatives available for container and field production systems. This project will explore the effectiveness of alternative controls for ambrosia beetles that, along with conventional pesticides, will contribute to an integrated approach to ambrosia beetle management improving the monitoring of the beetles, timing of pesticide applications and availability of alternative protective treatments.

Management of Invasive Non-Indigenous and Key Insect Pests in Nursery Crops  
Dr. Jason Oliver
The U.S. green industry contributes about $150 billion in economic output and 1.9 million jobs to the U.S. economy with an estimated $6.4 billion contribution to the Tennessee economy. With more than 2,000 non-indigenous insects now introduced into the U.S. and a continued rapid influx of new species from global trade, the nursery industry has been significantly impacted by multiple new pest problems that result in higher production costs. Managing these new pests often requires frequent agrochemical inputs that increase environmental contamination, worker exposure hazards, and the carbon footprint of the nursery industry, which lowers long-term sustainability. The primary objective of this project is to develop more cost sustainable and environmentally-friendly management treatments for two problem groups of nursery insects including pests under Federal and state quarantines (i.e., imported fire ants [IFA] and Japanese beetle [JB]) and trunk attacking wood-boring insects (i.e., ambrosia beetles and flatheaded borers). Reasons for addressing these pest insect groups include 1) the mandatory protocols for JB and IFA that are expensive, impractical to apply, and primarily utilize older and more hazardous organophosphate chemistries, 2) the human and livestock health hazard, as well as ecological impact posed by IFA, and 3) the difficulty in management of wood-boring insects that are cryptically hidden in tree trunks, require multiple expensive treatments that are only moderately effective, are primarily non-native and lack current control programs and recommendations, and have damage that either kills trees or renders them unsalable (i.e., key pests). There have been an estimated 30 new Scolytinae bark and ambrosia beetles introduced into the U.S. since 1980, and JB and IFA are continuing to expand their U.S. range impacting new areas.  American Hort (formerly the American Nursery and Landscape Association) has cited the need for improved crop protection and control methods, systems approaches, and integrated Best Management practices to reduce the introduction of non-native pests and to manage established pests. American Hort also has stated a particular need for better pest control measures that minimize environmental and applicator hazards and improves industry sustainability. This project will address American Hort identified needs by developing new treatment options for key and invasive pests of field- and container-grown nurseries.  Insecticides and alternative biopesticides will be evaluated for the key invasive pests groups identified. To develop lower impact management programs, research will examine 1) lower than labeled rates of conventional insecticides alone or in combination with efficacy enhancing additives, 2) reduced-risk compounds (e.g., biological compounds, biopesticides) posing less acute hazard to nursery labor and the environment, and 3) improved time-saving application techniques. The project also will continue phorid-decapitating fly (Pseudacteon spp.) releases that have the potential to provide region-wide and sustainable biological suppression of IFA populations; thereby reducing IFA impacts on humans, livestock, and natural ecosystems, as well as lowering agrochemical inputs. Several possible impacts are expected from the project, including 1) new lower cost rates or treatment options available for JB, IFA, and other invasive pests to improve sustainability and profitability of small-limited-use, as well as large-scale nursery operations, 2) more reduced-risk biopesticides available for these pests, which in turn will reduce worker hazard and lower environmental contamination, 3) new IFA biological control agents that may provide region-wide, sustainable, and continued no cost suppression of IFA populations, and 4) improved sustainability of nurseries by lowering the utilization of synthetic petroleum-based insecticides that have a greater carbon footprint. This project also will address two of the seven priority areas identified by USDA-NIFA for nursery and floriculture industries, including 1) rising costs of other inputs and 2) reducing the effect of environmental regulations, like chemical runoff.

Identification of Plant Endophytes for Plant Protection Against Fungal Diseases, Pests and Environmental Stresses
Dr. Margaret Mmbaga
A wide range of endophytic bacteria and fungi that live inside plants without causing any symptoms are known to benefit their host plant in various ways including boosting plants defense system against pathogen, insect pests, environmental stresses and promoting plant growth. Fungal pathogens impose major constraints on agricultural production globally; despite the continued release of disease-resistant cultivars and chemical fungicides, fungal infections continue to cause crop yield losses and motivate the development of effective and durable disease management systems. These challenges are likely to worsen with climate change because of increased likelihood of drought and altered precipitation patterns. Novel, robust and naturally abundant microbial strains that colonize plants internally and enhance plant defense system against fungal pathogens are expected to be less vulnerable to external environmental fluctuations. Thus, endophytes can be an important source of biocompounds and provide valuable products for improving agricultural productivity with reduced agricultural chemicals, especially pesticides. There is need to identify such endophytes and utilize them to increase crop productivity. The main objective of this project is to identify endophytes that can be used to boost plant protection against diverse fungal pathogens. Specifically (1) identify endophytes that have utility as biological control agents against fungal pathogens and/or insect pests, and/or enhance plant tolerance to environmental stresses associated with climate change and (2) evaluate host range, plant colonization and plant growth promoting ability of the selected endophytes in horticultural crops including diverse vegetables and ornamental plants.



 

 

 

 

 

 





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