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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
Regional IPM Competitive Grants - Northeastern |
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Project Title:
Perimeter Trap Cropping in Butternut Squash: A Systems Approach to Control Striped Cucumber Beetle and Enhance Pollination and Yield |
Project Directors (PDs):
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Lead State: MA Lead Organization: University of Massachusetts |
| Extension Funding: $18,485 |
| Research Funding: $40,695 |
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Start Date: May-01-2005 End Date: Apr-30-2007 |
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No-Cost Extension Date: Apr-30-2008 |
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Pests Involved: cucumber beetles |
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Site/Commodity: squash, cucurbits |
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Area of Emphasis: perimeter traps, pollination, herbivory, bees |
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Summary:
Pollination services are required for yield in many fruit and vegetable crops. However, conventional management practices generally focus on pest control. The extent to which yield is reduced by pests compared to insufficient pollination is unknown, and recent bee declines due to pesticide use, disease and parasites suggest that management of pollinator as well as pest populations may be essential to maintain crop yield.
Our proposal combines research and extension to evaluate perimeter trap crops for reducing pesticide use and increasing yield via resistance to cucumber beetles and attraction of pollinators in butternut squash. Northeastern stakeholders rank the cucumber beetle-bacterial wilt complex as a region-wide problem that causes significant reduction in yield and results in high pesticide use. Perimeter trap crops (PTC), or the use of an attractive crop to surround and protect main crops from herbivores, have proven effective in reducing pesticide use by 95% compared to conventional management practices. Here we propose to (1) screen 20 cucurbit cultivars for potential as effective PTCs via interactions with pests and pollinators, (2) test 5 PTC cultivars in experimental plots for potential to increase yield through reduced damage and increased pollination, (3) select 3 PTC cultivars to compare with conventional management practices on growers' farms. Results of these studies will be communicated to growers through electronic and printed publications and educational programs. This research will further the goals of IPM by providing growers with several PTC options to reduce pesticide use and increase pollination services. Objectives: Research Objectives: Objective 1. (Year 1) Correlate pollination and beetle damage, including bacterial wilt, with floral and vegetative traits across 20 cucurbit species and cultivars to identify traits involved in attraction and resistance, and to predict likely cultivars for PTC. Objective 2a. (Year 1) Compare yield of butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) using 5 different perimeter trap crops in an experimental farm setting. Objective 2b. (Year 1) Determine how these 5 PTC affect yield via attraction or resistance to cucumber beetles and pollinating bees. Together, these research objectives will help identify crops and traits most appropriate for perimeter trap crops, evaluate the efficacy of 5 trap crop cultivars for increasing yield, and determine the extent to which perimeter trap crops are effective via the mechanisms of reducing pest damage and increasing pollination. Extension Objectives: Objective 3a. (Year 2) Select 3 cultivars based on data from Objectives 1 and 2, implement PTC using these crops in commercial fields of butternut squash, and evaluate effects on yield compared to fields with conventional pest management practices. Objective 3b. (Year 2) Determine how these 3 PTC affect yield via attraction or resistance to cucumber beetles and pollinating bees. The extension objectives will take results from our research and apply them directly in growers' fields. We will compare the efficacy of 3 different perimeter trap crops for reducing pesticide use and increasing yield compared to conventional crops, and determine how each crop influences beetle damage and pollination. Results of these studies will be communicated to growers through electronic and printed publications and educational programs (see Implementation and Evaluation Plans). Proposal USDA CRIS data Progress Report 2006 |
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