Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, extension specialist in entomology, Department of Entomology, is the principal investigator of a two-year, $199,783 grant from the USDA Crop Protection and Pest Management program for the project, “Improving Management of a Key Insect Pest of Blueberries Through Optimization of Pollination Services,” from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2026.
This grant is part of a $20 million investment by the Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) program to address high priority issues related to pests, including insects, nematodes, pathogens, and weeds, and their management using IPM approaches at the state, regional and national levels. The program supports projects that will increase food security and respond effectively to other major societal challenges with comprehensive IPM approaches that are economically viable, ecologically prudent, and safe for human health.
Rodriguez-Saona and Rutgers post-doc Beth Ferguson, who is co-principal investigator on the grant-funded project, are investigating an integrated pest and pollinator management strategy for plum curculio, a persistent pest of blueberries in the mid-Atlantic. This pest damages the blueberry fruit through a scar left by feeding damage and from laying eggs, resulting in premature fruit drop from larvae.
Management can be conducted post-bloom, but pesticides cannot be applied while honeybees are present, explained Rodriguez-Saona.