Project Overview
Early season soil applications of entomopathogenic nematodes in high tunnel IPM.
Commodities
- Additional Plants: greenhouse
- Vegetables: tomatoes
Target Pests
Practices
- Pest Management: biological control, chemical control, monitoring/scouting, pesticides, sanitation
- Crop Production: high tunnels or hoop houses
Proposal abstract:
This is an Applied Research project seeking to fill gaps in knowledge regarding the efficacy and persistence of soil-applied entomopathogenic nemotodes (EPNs) for the biological control of arthropod pests in high tunnel (HT) vegetable tomato production. This project seeks to 1) identify new and emerging pest insects that are influenced by season extension, 2) evaluate the persistence and efficacy of EPNs on management of soil-dwelling pest insects, and 3) educate northeastern growers on the state-of-the-art in EPN application and help to identify scenarios when EPNs are worth using. We will collaborate with commercial growers to evaluate EPNs in HT environments, by conducting wax worm bioassays to compare the biological control potential of soil sampled over time from treated and untreated soils, inside and outside of tunnels. We will scout HT crops throughout the year and report data to growers, who will make their own pest management decisions. We will organize workshops, which will highlight EPN applications that are immediately available to growers and will demonstrate application techniques. In addition to improving high tunnel growers’ knowledge in the biology and application of EPNs, this project seeks to generate publishable research that answers the question “is there a role for early season applications of EPNs in high tunnel vegetable IPM?”
Project objectives from proposal:
Objective 1. Identify the biological control potential of soil-applied EPNs in HT environments.
Objective 2. Evaluate the influence of early season EPN applications on subsequent IPM through the season (e.g. thrips, cutworms, other common greenhouse pests) and conducting economic analyses.
Objective 3. Demonstrate and evaluate application methods (e.g. spray applications, irrigation infrastructure, etc.) with collaborating growers, at grower workshops, and in campus teaching tunnels
