Research Project: Integrated Production and Automation Systems for Temperate Fruit Crops

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

2023 Annual Report

Objectives
Objective 1: Develop improved monitoring and/or management strategies for invasive and persistent native pests in orchard, small fruit, and/or controlled environment agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D] Sub-objective 1.A. Identify and/or understand the impact of specific biological stimuli on behavior and ecology of invasive and persistent native arthropod pests. Sub-objective 1.B. Utilize behavioral, ecological and biological knowledge of invasive and persistent native arthropod pests to develop improved monitoring and management tools, and technology. Objective 2: Analyze key whole tree and rootstock-scion interactions; and develop and integrate new plant phenotyping systems to assist in the evaluation of key traits in orchard agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D] Sub-objective 2.A. Generate new knowledge of apple rootstock-scion interactions based on manipulation of the deep rooting 1 (DRO1) gene. Sub-objective 2.B. Develop new knowledge for potential variety releases and optimized production practices for novel ‘Supersweet’ nectarine selections. Sub-objective 2.C. Develop computer vision and/or robotic plant phenotyping systems for shape analysis for use by plant breeders, physiologists, and horticulturists. Objective 3: Develop improved horticultural practices to improve fruit quality, nutrient and water use efficiency, growth habits, harvest, and/or yield in orchard, small fruit, and/or controlled environment agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D] Sub-objective 3.A. Develop new knowledge and use of shorter ultraviolet irradiation (~220 nm) on growth and development of strawberry plants. Sub-objective 3.B. Use knowledge of adventitious root initiation and subsequent shoot growth on Rubus species to develop improved management tools and technologies for production of primocane-fruiting blackberry and their reproductive development. Sub-objective 3.C. Understand the impact of catching surface design on mechanical blueberry harvester on fruit quality and develop improved fruit catching design. Sub-objective 3.D. Create methods to compute tree architecture and apply pruning protocols to fruit tree models. Objective 4: Develop new alternative management systems for pests and diseases in orchard, small fruit, and controlled environment agroecosystems that control pests and diseases during production and after harvest. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D] Sub-Objective 4.A. Control of strawberry diseases and arthropods using UV-C/dark period/antagonist treatment and its effect on organoleptic, chemical, and microbial quality of the fruit. Sub-Objective 4.B. Control of postharvest brown rot of stone fruits. Objective 5: Analyze rapid apple decline disease etiology and develop small scale or scale neutral technologies for managing tree fruit diseases to enhance the economic and ecological sustainability of small farm orchard production. [NP305, C1, PS1B] Objective 6: Generate new knowledge of soil-plant interactions on small farm orchards in new production areas and develop new tools and technologies for enhancing marginal soils with sustainable inputs. [NP305, C1, PS1B]

Approach
The goal of our multi-disciplinary project is to enable growers to increase both ecological sustainability and economic competitiveness in modern fruit production systems. Entomological, computer engineering, horticultural and post-harvest plant pathology disciplines, and expertise will be integrated within this project to accomplish proposed objectives and generate new knowledge, technology, and tools. Objective 1 will utilize laboratory, semi-field and field-based behavioral and chemical ecology techniques to study invasive and persistent native pests, and result in monitoring tools and management strategies for invasive and persistent native pests of orchard and small fruit agroecosystems including brown marmorated stink bug, spotted lanterfly, spotted wing drosophila, and apple maggot fly. Objective 2 will include greenhouse and field-based horticultural studies of ‘Supersweet’ nectarine selections and transgenic apple rootstock overexpressing deep rooting gene (DRO1), and development of a simple computer vision and/or robotic system for plant phenotyping. New knowledge generated will provide optimized production practices for ‘Supersweet’ nectarines, new knowledge of whole tree physiology and rootstock-scion interactions enabling growers to customize fruit tree orchards based on production region, and plant phenotyping technology enabling optimal identification of superior cultivars, clones, rootstocks, and rootstock/scion combinations for improved crop quality. Objective 3 will include greenhouse and field studies aimed at improving advanced machine harvesting technology for fresh market blueberry, alternative systems for the management of primocane-fruiting blackberries that can be used to improve and increase yield from late summer to early winter, and new knowledge on plant response to short wavelength light irradiation to enable earlier harvest times; and studies aimed at establishing orchard technology. Objective 4 will include studies of alternative methods for controlling pre- and post-harvest brown rot fruit decays with heat and GRAS materials, and of UV-C irradiation technology with specific dark period and microbial antagonists against pre- and post-harvest diseases and arthropod pests.

Progress Report
For Objective 1, lab and field studies involving invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) survivorship and development on wild and cultivated hosts have revealed that while cultivated apple and peach trees are likely not vulnerable to economic damage, Vitis vinifera (wine grape) is at high risk of invasion of SLF into plantings and feeding damage that can lead to economic losses unless insecticide interventions are undertaken. For Objective 2, preliminary studies with non-transgenic and transgenic DRO1 rootstocks grafted with ‘Golden Delicious’ apple and with own-rooted materials were conducted in greenhouse and growth chamber to evaluate drought resilience associated with root architectural differences. Optimization of root phenotyping systems, including soil-less aeroponics and soil-based rhizoboxes, are in progress. To identify the physiological interactions between apple rootstocks and scions in the field conditions, more commercially available rootstocks and grafted trees were planted in an existing research block in 2022-2023. Field trials of ‘Supersweet’ advanced selections were planted along with and standard nectarine cultivars as controls with tree data collection underway. For Objective 3, work was published on identifying individual flowers in images of fruit trees. This program has transitioned to numerical analysis and best methods for essential computer vision problems, such as triangulation. Thirty-six pear genotypes were evaluated weekly for shelf life and incidence of rots during cold storage. Results from this work will inform pear breeding efforts. For Objective 4, total RNA was isolated form 54 UV-C treated and untreated control strawberry leaves and fruits. A procurement package was submitted for RNA sequencing of the samples to investigate the activation of plant defense responses in response to UV-C. For Objective 5, samples were collected from apple trees in Pennsylvania and West Virginia with a history of rapid apple decline. RT-PCR testing for viruses has been completed for nearly all samples and RNAseq was completed for a subset of samples to identify host responses and viruses present. Methylobacteria field trials aimed at evaluating its potential to manage fire blight were conducted in spring of 2022 and 2023. While methylobacteria induced JA-related defense responses in apple, there was not a significant reduction in fire blight disease. A Streptomyces sp. with biocontrol activity was isolated from a pear fruit. Streptomyces sp. resulted in a 45 and 61% growth reduction of Penicillium spp. and Colletotrichum spp., respectively, in plate assays and significant reductions in disease symptoms on inoculated fruits. For Objective 6, the Open Irr automated irrigation controller was further improved in design and function. Automated irrigation algorithms were improved to handle edge-cases involving sensor outliers. Additional scale-neutral technologies beneficial to small-farm orchards are under development or efficacy assessment including: 1) open-source dendrometry equipment; and 2) open-source SapFlow equipment for orchard water management. Additional work pertaining to the coalescence of orchard sensing technologies with automated irrigation equipment has commenced in Washington. Critical monitoring equipment has been deployed and is in operation at the future carbon balance orchard site.

Accomplishments
1. Spotted lanternfly threat to specialty crops. Spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest in the USA. While this invasive planthopper feeds on over 103 different plant species, it was unknown what threat it may pose to specialty crops and forest species. Through a series of laboratory and field trials, new knowledge was generated on hosts that do and do not support strong survivorship and development. Wine grapes, Vitis vinifera, supports strong development and survivorship and is a preferred host in the field, while both cultivated apple and peach did not support development and were not preferred hosts. Among wild hosts, black walnut, riverbank grape, and invasive tree of heaven all support strong development and survivorship. Ultimately, spotted lanternfly poses a threat to the winegrape industry, and wild host such as black walnut, riverbank grape and tree of heaven likely can provide the means for establishment in new regions.

Review Publications
Tabb, A., Elsensohn, J.E., Leskey, T.C. 2022. Automated size measurements of Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) with simple image-based methodology. Florida Entomologist. 105(3):262-264. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.105.0314.
Siddique, A., Tabb, A., Medeiros, H. 2022. Self-supervised learning for panoptic segmentation of multiple fruit flower species. International of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Robotics and Automation Letters. 7(4):12387-12394. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2022.3217000.
Bierer, A.M., Leytem, A.B., Dungan, R.S., Moore, A., Bjorneberg, D.L. 2021. Soil organic carbon dynamics in semi-arid irrigated cropping systems. Agronomy. 11(484):1-30. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11030484.
Bierer, A.M., Dungan, R.S., Tarkalson, D.D., Leytem, A.B. 2023. Fertilization strategy affects crop nutrient concentration and removal in semi-arid U.S. Northwest. Agronomy Journal. 115(1):351-369. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21212.
Collum, T.D., Evans, B.E., Gottschalk, C.C. 2023. First report of Fusarium avenaceum causing postharvest decay of European pear in mid-atlantic United States. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-08-22-1784-PDN.
Chang, J., Tang, L., Lin, M., Chang, Y., Chang, J. 2022. Inflorescence pruning and cincturing after full female bloom improve 'Yu Her Pau' litchi (Litchi chinensis) fruit bearing. Fruits. 77(4):1-8. https://doi.org/10.17660/th2022/016.
Shahzad, F., Tang, L., Vashisth, T. 2023. Unraveling the mystery of canopy dieback caused by citrus disease Huanglongbing and its link to hypoxia stress. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1119530.
Regmi, P., Leskey, T.C., Pinero, J. 2023. Methyl salicylate improves the effectiveness of the odor-baited trap tree approach for adult plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) monitoring and attract-and-kill. Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad110.
Elsensohn, J.E., Nixon, L., Urban, J., Jones, S., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Survival and development of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) on common secondary host plants differ by life stage under controlled conditions. Frontiers in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1134070.
Bergh, J., Dyer, J., Brandt, S., Cullum, J.P., Nixon, L., Nita, M., Leskey, T.C. 2022. Spatial distribution of 17-year periodical cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) exuviae and oviposition injury in mid-Atlantic, USA apple orchards and implications for management. Crop Protection. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106095.
Nixon, L.J., Barnes, C., Deecher, E., Madalinska, K., Nielsen, A., Urban, J., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Evaluating deployment strategies for spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) traps. Journal of Economic Entomology. 116(2):426-434. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad038.
Nixon, L.J., Barnes, C., Rugh, A.D., Hott, C.F., Carper Jr, G.L., Cullum, J.P., Jones, S., Ludwick, D., Scorza, C., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Evaluating materials to serve as removable oviposition substrates for Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) under field conditions. Florida Entomologist. 106(2):141-143. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.106.0213.
Nixon, L.J., Jones, S.K., Dechaine, A.C., Ludwick, D., Hickin, M., Sullivan, L., Elsensohn, J.E., Gould, J., Keena, M., Kuhar, T., Pfeiffer, D.G., Leskey, T.C. 2022. Development of rearing methodology for the invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae). Frontiers in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.1025193.