Project Overview
GS20-233
Project Type: Graduate Student
Funds awarded in 2020: $16,111.00
Projected End Date: 02/28/2023
Grant Recipient:
University of Georgia
Region: Southern
State: Georgia
Graduate Student:
Major Professor:
Brett Blaauw
University of Georgia
Information Products
Commodities
- Fruits: peaches
Practices
- Pest Management: biological control, cultural control, integrated pest management
Proposal abstract:
Halyomorpha halys is an invasive stink bug that causes damage to multiple commodities including peaches. Currently, there are few integrated pest management tactics available for H. halys, and research on natural enemies in the United States is skewed towards parasitoids and predators of eggs. In Chinese peach production, ground cover manipulation is a successful integrated pest management strategy for controlling arthropod pests. We propose using data from pitfall traps and molecular gut content analysis to identify ground-dwelling predators of H. halys and determine how ground cover management practices used in the Southeastern United States enhance biological control of H. halys nymphs.
Project objectives from proposal:
- To identify the predators of BMSB that are present in Georgia peach orchards.
- To understand how existing ground cover management practices in Southeastern peach production impact communities of predators and their predation of BMSB.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.