Location: Commodity Protection and Quality Research
Project Number: 2034-43000-043-058-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 30, 2023
End Date: Jun 30, 2025
Objective:
The overall goal is to quantify and improve field performance of mass-released navel orangeworm (NOW) for sterile insect technique (SIT), and to develop best practices for area-wide pest management programs utilizing NOW SIT. Objectives addressed by the cooperator in this agreement include:
Development and improvement of x-ray irradiation for pupae and/or adults;
Determination of the impact and of sterile NOW in release by zone in commercial orchards; Development and use of molecular genetic approaches to improve SIT; and Improvement of understanding of behavioral response of NOW to phenyl propionate (PPO) to increase its utility for monitoring.
Approach:
X-ray irradiation dosimetry and effectiveness will be examined using laboratory studies to determine whether complete female sterility can be obtained with pupal irradiation, and/or whether modification of adult irradiation methods can improve female sterility compared to previous studies.
The impact of sterile NOW released by drone into standardized replicate blocks in field of commercial collaborators will be examined using traps grids for males and females. In addition, NOW damage will be assessed using harvest nut samples in the center of the field.
Molecular tools examined for enhancement of SIT may include molecular gut analysis to determine movement between crops, determination of genes expressed in response to radiation in order to distinguish spermatophores from irradiated and non-irradiated males, and/or gene editing to produce male-only cohorts of NOW.
Improved knowledge of behavioral response to PPO will be attained by use of field night vision videography and/or remote automated camera traps; allowing us to to determine the time of night that males and females approach PPO lures.
