Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the corn earworm, helicoverpa…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the corn earworm, helicoverpa ZEA, has been newly identified as an emerging pest affecting hemp across all major U.S. Production regions, including the pacific northwest (PNW). This insect pest inflicts feeding damage on flower buds resulting in significant economic loss to marketable hemp flowers and biomass cannabinoid yields. There is a strong need to establish a sustainable and effective integrated pest management (IPM) program to mitigate the economic and environmental impact of this pest and current management practices in hemp. There are limited insecticide modes of action that are currently labeled for h. ZEA in hemp, and non-chemical alternative options have not been developed. There is a dearth of overall knowledge regarding pest control in hemp due to the recent RE-legalization of the crop as an agricultural commodity in the U.S. Our proposed research will develop multiple IPM tactics, including host plant resistance, biological and cultural control methods, and further understanding of local and landscape-level environmental risk factors to equip PNW hemp producers with reliable management strategies and decision-aid tools for h. ZEA in hemp. To develop an IPM program for h. ZEA in hemp, we will: 1) evaluate the hemp germplasms for host plant resistance against h. ZEA with an emphasis on hemp flower morphology and flower chemical content effects (e.g., cannabinoid and terpenes) on pest ovipositional preference and life history traits, 2) characterize the potential utility of a larval parasitoid (i.e., microplitis croceipes), as a biological control agent by investigating its fitness and ability to reduce h. ZEA pest population growth and flower damage on hemp plants, and 3) determine cultural control methods and environmental risk factors of h. ZEA in hemp features including presence and plant timing of corn as a trap crop and risk associated with landscape-level variation of surrounding host crops on h. ZEA population abundance. Outputs from this project will directly benefit hemp growers as the research is expected to increase understanding and availability of safe and effective non-chemical management tactics for h. ZEA in hemp production systems.