Managing the Invasive Swede Midge on Organic and Urban Farms

Commodities

• Vegetables: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, greens (leafy)

Practices

• Crop Production: crop rotation
• Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, extension, technical assistance, workshop
• Pest Management: biological control, integrated pest management, physical control, traps
• Production Systems: organic agriculture, other
• Sustainable Communities: urban agriculture

Swede midge, an invasive pest of brassica crops, poses a threat to small-scale, organic, and urban vegetable farms in the Northeast. Due to its small size and feeding within the growing point of the plant, it is often not found and is misdiagnosed. As a result, populations can build to devastating levels on farms. Small-scale and organic farms are most at-risk due to lack of space for crop rotation and effective insecticide products. Similarly, urban growers suffer large crop losses from swede midge due to inability to move production away from infested areas. Results from our three vegetable grower surveys have shown a desire for improved organic management options for swede midge, with an emphasis on biological control. On urban farms specifically, brassica crops were identified as one of the most challenging to grow, with swede midge highlighted as a top issue limiting production of important crops such as collard greens. On rural farms, Plain growers have also expressed the need for improved swede midge management, as this pest is a challenge for brassica producers growing for produce auctions in western and northern New York. In Maine, where swede midge is a newer invasive pest, Plain growers in the northern part of the state have suffered yield losses due to this pest. With a wide range of production practices, farm landscapes, and communities, scale- and systems-appropriate swede midge outreach is needed to meet the needs of organic and urban growers across the Northeast.

The outreach objective of our project is to assist organic and urban growers with monitoring for this "invisible" pest to better understand populations on farms, and use this information to design integrated pest management programs (IPM) using ground barriers, crop rotation, netting, and other non-insecticidal strategies. For Plain growers, we will work with produce auction communities to ensure their understanding of swede midge biology and then guide their adoption of IPM practices to improve the economic viability of brassicas grown for their auction. Lastly, we plan to develop another management strategy for swede midge. We will conduct a research experiment to test whether application of New York-native persistent entomopathogenic nematodes can suppress emergence of swede midge from the soil, resulting in crop protection. We will partner with growers and extension educators in New York and Maine to disseminate research results and management resource materials to growers to better manage swede midge, resulting in increased yield of organic broccoli and other brassica vegetables to meet the demands of consumers, improve economic viability of organic and urban farms, and improve environmental sustainability of brassica crop production.

Twenty-five farmers will adopt new practices to manage swede midge (including crop rotation, insect exclusion netting, ground barriers, etc.) resulting in recovery of $1,500/acre in losses on 35 acres.