Empowering Small Fruit Growers with Educational Tools Against Mite and Thrips Pests

Commodities

Practices

This project aims to enhance pest management in small fruit farming by equipping growers in North Carolina and Arkansas with innovative educational and Extension tools. By focusing on mites and thrips—key pests in crops like blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries—the project addresses critical gaps in knowledge and practice identified in recent pest management workshops (Pest Management Strategic Plans, PMSPs). As these pests become more prevalent due to changing climatic conditions and other factors, they threaten the sustainability and profitability of berry crops, which are vital to the region's agriculture. The proposed Extension and educational program will develop a modern curriculum on these emerging pests, targeting future workforce development and providing sustainable management strategies. Extension efforts will produce comprehensive, accessible materials and activities, including instructional videos in English and Spanish and online curricula, to improve monitoring and management practices among growers and extension agents. Expected outcomes include increased knowledge of pest biology and sustainable management, improved pest identification and monitoring, and enhanced adoption of biocontrol and other sustainable practices. This project emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion by specifically engaging underrepresented groups in agriculture, with a focus on Hispanic/Latino producers. By integrating robust evaluation and feedback mechanisms, the project aims to ensure its relevance and efficacy in supporting the small fruit industry in the Southeast, ultimately enhancing crop resilience and grower sustainability.

The overall goal is to develop a strong education and extension program that provides traditional and innovative educational resources on arthropod management to extension agents and strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry growers in the southeastern U.S. region.

1. Develop a modern educational program on emerging thrips and mite pests for future workforce development: Highlighting arthropod morphology, pest identification, ecology and host interactions, disease transmission (if any), and sustainable management as part of IPM programs.
2. Develop an extension program focused on sustainable arthropod management tailored for small fruit stakeholders: Featuring traditional and innovative monitoring and sampling methods, field identification, sustainable management, alternatives to insecticides, and IPM compatibility with standard methods (e.g., biocontrol compatibility with pesticides), among other topics of interest to stakeholders.