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Research Project: DEVELOPMENT OF IRRADIATION TREATMENTS FOR HIGH IMPACT INVASIVE SPECIES AND EVALUATION OF COMMODITY TOLERANCE TO IRRADIATION TREATMENTS

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

2012 Annual Report


1a.Objectives (from AD-416):
Determine an effective radiation dose to control invasive pests in exported commodities.


1b.Approach (from AD-416):
Dose response tests to determine most radio-tolerant stage, followed by large-scale validation tests with most tolerant stage. Submit data to APHIS for treatment approval.


3.Progress Report:

This is a final report for Project 5320-22430-016-07R. The goal of this agreement is to determine an effective radiation dose to control invasive pests in exported commodities, which contributes to objective 1 of the in-house project.

Light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (LBAM) was first discovered in California in 2007. In New Zealand and Australia, it is an important economic pest of tree fruits such as apples, apricots, citrus, grapes, nectarines, peaches, and pears, and can be found on forestry, vegetable and nursery crops. A major concern with LBAM establishment and spread in California is trade restrictions on fruits and vegetables imposed by importing countries, such as Canada and Mexico. Irradiation is a postharvest quarantine treatment option for exported commodities such as fruits and vegetables to prevent movement of viable LBAM. Eggs, neonates, third instars, and fifth instars were irradiated at target doses of 60, 90, 120, or 150 Gy or left untreated as controls in replicated factorial experiments and survival to the adult stage was recorded. The fifth instar was the most radiotolerant stage commonly found in fruit. Irradiation treatment of approx. 35,000 fifth instars with a radiation dose of 150 Gy resulted in no survival to the adult stage, indicating that this dose can provide quarantine security. In a few crops such as table grapes, pupae may be present in the exported commodity. Large-scale tests are ongoing with late stage pupae to determine a sterilizing dose.


   

 
Project Team
Follett, Peter
 
Project Annual Reports
  FY 2012
  FY 2011
 
Related National Programs
  Crop Protection & Quarantine (304)
  Methyl Bromide Alternatives (308)
 
 
Last Modified: 05/23/2013
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