Author: Ricardo Bessin
Planning Unit: Entomology
Major Program: Horticulture, Commercial
Outcome: Initial Outcome
From apples to strawberries and more, pest management is a complex and evolving in specialty tree fruit and small fruit crops. Declining numbers of University Specialists threaten the capacity of LGUs to deliver accurate and evolving pest management information. Most fruits like apples are threatened simultaneously by many insect pests and diseases. Management tactics must reduce damage from pests while minimizing harm to pollinators and beneficials that are essential to producing a sustainable crop. All this needs to be accomplished while managing input costs and ensuring food safety. Multidisciplinary specialists are developing a database delivery system to respond to changing needs of growers producing 9 tree and small fruit crops in 15 states. The database enables growers to get information more quickly in ways that they can use while reducing time needed by Specialists to provide up to date advice.
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