The primary purpose of this agreement is to develop molecular andmorphological diagnostic tools and provide new information about theparasitoid assemblages of blueberry gall midge in new england and…

This $105,513 cooperative agreement from the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will support the University of New Hampshire in developing diagnostic tools and providing new information about parasitoid assemblages of blueberry gall midge in New England and the American Southeast through May 31, 2023. The award is being made under the agency's Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025), which aims to protect U.S. agriculture from economically injurious plant and animal diseases and pests. Specifically, the university will develop molecular and morphological identification tools for blueberry gall midge complexes, a major global pest of cultivated blueberry species. It will also collect new data on parasitoid populations impacting this pest across different regions. The results will help facilitate accurate identification of biological control agents, supporting effective integrated pest management strategies.

The primary purpose of this agreement is to develop molecular andmorphological diagnostic tools and provide new information about theparasitoid assemblages of blueberry gall midge in new england and theamerican southeast. The blueberry gall midge complex (bgmc) is a majorglobal pest of cultivated vaccinium species. In the united states, bgmcis extremely injurious in highbush blueberries and an emerging problemin lowbush blueberries. Chemical control of the pest is problematic andcurrent IPM strategies heavily rely on the accurate estimation of thephenology of bgmc and its parasitoids. At least four undescribedplatygastrid parasitoid wasps were shown to effectively control bgmc intwo studies in mississippi and florida. Information about bgmcparasitoids from the other parts of the USA, including new hampshire, ispresently lacking. We will make our results accessible in the form ofuser-friendly online identification tools and scientific publications. Our results will facilitate the accurate identification of biologicalcontrol agents of bgmc, an essential component of an effectivebiological control or IPM strategy. The proposed framework for themanagement and implementation of cecidomyiid parasitoid in blueberry hasbroader impacts on biological control programs of other gall midge pests.activities to be performed: the three main objectives of this project