The primary objective is to conduct a survey for the tomato leafminer, phthorimea absoluta and old world bollworm, H elicoverpa armigera, which are both category 1 (high impact) pests on the 2025…

The Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Florida (FDACS) received a $203,196 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025), effective September 15, 2025 through September 14, 2026. The primary deliverable is a comprehensive statewide survey targeting two high-impact Category 1 exotic pests—tomato leafminer (Phthorimea absoluta) and Old World bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera)—along with additional exotic tomato and potato pests of concern. FDACS will conduct surveillance activities across 120 individual site locations throughout Florida using pheromone traps and visual inspections of suitable host materials including beans, tomatoes, corn, and cotton, deploying a total of 192 traps.

The survey will generate critical detection and monitoring data to inform potential eradication or containment strategies, prevent pest spread beyond Florida, enhance grower awareness, and protect Florida's agricultural production and related crops. FDACS will continue monitoring previously positive locations from the 2015 Manatee County Old World bollworm incident to ensure no established populations remain. These surveillance activities directly support APHIS's national mission to protect U.S. agriculture from economically injurious pests and diseases through data-driven detection and early response capabilities.

Activities

Pheromone traps will be deployed and visual surveys conducted throughout the state in suitable host material such as; beans, tomatoes, corn and cotton that target all of the pests listed in the work plan. Overall, the project will survey 120 individual site locations and deploy a total of 192 traps. In addition, the project will continue to monitor traps at the previously positive locations related to the 2015 incident in manatee county to ensure no population of old world bollworm has become established. Deliverables and expected outcomes: results from this survey will let US know if and where tuta absoluta, helicoverpa armigera and other pests of tomato occur in the U.S. Survey and potential detection of these pests would provide the following benefits: potential eradication or containment of pest; prevention of the spread out of florida; increased awareness of listed pests for growers; and protection of agricultural production and other related hosts in florida and the united states. Intended beneficiary(IES): the pests being surveyed for in this project have a wide range of agricultural crops that serve as hosts and which they can significantly damage. Therefore, much of florida's agricultural industry, and that of the nation, could be severely impacted should any of these pests become established in the US. The ability to provide for the early detection of them greatly enhances the opportunity for eradication, mitigation strategies, lower the costs of that mitigation to growers and lessen the impact on international trade.subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: N/a.