Increasing effectiveness of regional pest and disease monitoring through collaborative initiatives
Agronomy & Pest Management
Craig Frey
CED/Multi-County Commercial Vegetable Agent
UF/IFAS Extension
Labelle
Abstract
Pest and disease management is critical for maintaining grower profitability and providing regional pest and disease information throughout the season is one way extension can engage in pest and disease monitoring. This talk will feature three pest and disease management initiatives that have been regional collaborations between extension agents, growers, professional scouts, research faculty, state agencies, and industry partners.
A new weevil pest has emerged in parsley and celery crops in south Florida. Growers, scouts, extension agents, and state regulatory personnel have worked together to assess the distribution, behavior, and identification of this pest. This work is ongoing, and the collaborative effort will ensure a more rapid development of management strategies for this pest and more effective extension education program for growers.
Snap beans are grown on 27,000 acres in Florida. In 2020, a new, unidentified pest was causing losses in some areas up to 30%. Scouts, growers, research specialists, and state regulatory personnel collaborated for rapid identification of the thrips species. University extension initiated a regional monitoring program that provided pest populations on a weekly basis throughout south Florida. Scouts, growers, and extension agents provided scouting data across the area, while research faculty utilized the platform to provide timely research insights of the behavior and management of the pest. After two seasons, thresholds have been estimated and insights have been gained regarding population dynamics across south Florida. Growers are no longer reliant on preventative measures and instead utilize these weekly reports for initiating management.
While pest management utilizes scouting to determine course of action for management, disease management is preventative in nature. This is because pathogens are not identified until after infection has occurred and disease symptoms have developed. An industry partner has developed a spore trapping program that provides the potential to detect fungal pathogens before they infect crops. A regional partnership between extension, growers, scouts, and the industry partner was developed to assess a regional approach to monitoring fungal pathogens.
Authors: Anna Meszaros, Craig Frey
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Anna Meszaros Commercial Vegetable Agent, UF/IFAS, Florida, 33415
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Craig Frey CED/Multi-County Commercial Vegetable Agent, UF/IFAS, Florida, 33935