The primary purpose of this project is to begin developing genericirradiation doses for two groups of pests, the mealybugs (curculionidae)and thrips (thripidae/phlaeothripidae) were limited data on…

This cooperative agreement between the University of Florida and the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will support the development of generic irradiation doses for mealybugs and thrips pests. The $108,404 award began on August 1, 2022 and will run through July 31, 2023. Under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care federal grant program, the University will collect local pest specimens and conduct dose-response studies to evaluate the radiotolerance of each species. This will identify effective irradiation doses and generate data to determine preliminary generic doses using species sensitivity distribution methodology. The University will also rear specimens and evaluate treatment efficacy. By the completion date, the awardee will deliver a report including detailed dose-response data, experimental conditions, and irradiation parameters to establish a foundation for generic doses for these pest groups. This supports the grant program's goal of protecting U.S. agriculture from economically damaging pests through environmentally safe alternatives to traditional fumigation.

The primary purpose of this project is to begin developing genericirradiation doses for two groups of pests, the mealybugs (curculionidae)and thrips (thripidae/phlaeothripidae) were limited data on the effectsof phytosanitary irradiation are present and to generate irradiationdata that can be evaluated under the species sensitivity (SSD)distribution framework. Under this project locally available pestspecies from the two taxa will be collected and reared at the universityof florida tropical research (trec) and education center. High qualityspecimens will be provided to the USDA aphis treatment and inspectionmethods lab (timl). Timl will conduct studies to determine theappropriate life stage and treatment endpoint for these pests and thenconduct dose-response studies to evaluate the radiotolerance for eachspecies so as to identify the effective irradiation dose forconfirmatory trials. The cooperator at trec will be responsible forpost-treatment rearing and evaluation of treatment efficacy. Thedeliverable will be a report and data package that provides detailedinformation on the dose-response data for each species tested, alongwith experimental conditions and irradiation parameters. In addition, apreliminary generic dose will be provided based on the results of thisresearch and other studies, analyzed through the SSD framework. Thiswill form the foundation for a generic dose for these pest groups whichwill benefit importers and exporters who utilize phytosanitaryirradiation. An additional benefit will be realized by irradiationfacilities which may have new opportunities to provide treatments forthese pest groups. The general public will benefit through wider adoption of phytosanitary irradiation as an environmentally safe and effective alternative to traditional fumigation treatments. Nosubawards are associated with this award.