This federal Project Grant award, provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.329), will fund research and extension activities to develop biological control strategies for the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) and apple maggot fly (AMF), two major pests of blueberry and apple crops in the United States. The $325,000 award to Michigan State University will support laboratory, greenhouse, and field studies to evaluate the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi against the soil-dwelling stages of these pests. The project also seeks to determine optimal application methods and assess environmental constraints on pathogen effectiveness. Extension activities will disseminate the research findings to growers through field days, publications, and presentations. Sub-awards to the USDA Agricultural Research Service and University of Massachusetts will support specialized field testing and extension programming as part of this integrated pest management project.
Generated 3/4/25, 4:36 AM