Project Number: 6631-22000-005-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Dec 20, 2012
End Date: Sep 09, 2015

Objective:
1. Find semiochemicals that lead to products for detection, behavioral disruption, attraction to insecticidal baits, or surveillance of redbay ambrosia beetle, tephritid fruit flies, cocoa pod borer, and other pests that threaten food security. 2. Test novel quarantine treatments for phytosanitary applications on imported and exported fruit or other commodities. 3. Develop practical systems for integrated pest management that reduce the threat of importation of exotic pests from foreign tropical and subtropical environments.

Approach:
Research will consist of field and laboratory experiments to determine the behavior, chemical ecology of and novel quarantine treatments for insect pests that can be used in the development of control techniques. Strategies will include the development of new detection and delimitation tools, use of biosafe insecticides in baits and discrete feeding stations, and discovery of components in the insect's biology that can be exploited for formation of control measures for exotic insect pests that affect plant production.