U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are playing a key role in efforts to contain the emerald ash borer's destructive march through the nation's forests.
Researchers with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are testing a fungal pathogen that could be used as a biocontrol, along with the release of non-stinging wasps that are the beetle's natural enemies. Wasps have been released in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland, and releases are planned in several other states.
John Vandenberg, an entomologist with the ARS Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health in Ithaca, N.Y., is evaluating Beauveria bassiana, a fungus that is the active ingredient in a commercially available insecticide. Researchers have found that the fungus helps to control emerald ash borer beetles when it is applied to infested trees before wasps are released.
Results, published in the journal Biological Control, show the fungus kills beetles and persists better on bark than on leaves. More recent work shows the fungus does not harm the wasps. ARS is the USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and the research supports USDA's commitment to agricultural sustainability.
Read more about this research in the April 2011 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
Latest from Lawn & Landscape
- Hilltip adds extended auger models
- What 1,000 techs taught us
- Giving Tuesday: Project EverGreen extends Bourbon Raffle deadline
- Atlantic-Oase names Ward as CEO of Oase North America
- JohnDow Industries promotes Tim Beltitus to new role
- WAC Landscape Lighting hosts webinar on fixture adjustability
- Unity Partners forms platform under Yardmaster brand
- Fort Lauderdale landscaper hospitalized after electrocution
