Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Develop improved monitoring and/or management strategies for invasive and persistent native pests in orchard, small fruit, and/or controlled environment agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D]
Sub-objective 1.A. Identify and/or understand the impact of specific biological stimuli on behavior and ecology of invasive and persistent native arthropod pests.
Sub-objective 1.B. Utilize behavioral, ecological and biological knowledge of invasive and persistent native arthropod pests to develop improved monitoring and management tools, and technology.
Objective 2: Analyze key whole tree and rootstock-scion interactions; and develop and integrate new plant phenotyping systems to assist in the evaluation of key traits in orchard agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D]
Sub-objective 2.A. Generate new knowledge of apple rootstock-scion interactions based on manipulation of the deep rooting 1 (DRO1) gene.
Sub-objective 2.B. Develop new knowledge for potential variety releases and optimized production practices for novel ‘Supersweet’ nectarine selections.
Sub-objective 2.C. Develop computer vision and/or robotic plant phenotyping systems for shape analysis for use by plant breeders, physiologists, and horticulturists.
Objective 3: Develop improved horticultural practices to improve fruit quality, nutrient and water use efficiency, growth habits, harvest, and/or yield in orchard, small fruit, and/or controlled environment agroecosystems. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D]
Sub-objective 3.A. Develop new knowledge and use of shorter ultraviolet irradiation (~220 nm) on growth and development of strawberry plants.
Sub-objective 3.B. Use knowledge of adventitious root initiation and subsequent shoot growth on Rubus species to develop improved management tools and technologies for production of primocane-fruiting blackberry and their reproductive development.
Sub-objective 3.C. Understand the impact of catching surface design on mechanical blueberry harvester on fruit quality and develop improved fruit catching design.
Sub-objective 3.D. Create methods to compute tree architecture and apply pruning protocols to fruit tree models.
Objective 4: Develop new alternative management systems for pests and diseases in orchard, small fruit, and controlled environment agroecosystems that control pests and diseases during production and after harvest. [NP305, C1, PS1B&1D]
Sub-Objective 4.A. Control of strawberry diseases and arthropods using UV-C/dark period/antagonist treatment and its effect on organoleptic, chemical, and microbial quality of the fruit.
Sub-Objective 4.B. Control of postharvest brown rot of stone fruits.
Objective 5: Analyze rapid apple decline disease etiology and develop small scale or scale neutral technologies for managing tree fruit diseases to enhance the economic and ecological sustainability of small farm orchard production. [NP305, C1, PS1B]
Objective 6: Generate new knowledge of soil-plant interactions on small farm orchards in new production areas and develop new tools and technologies for enhancing marginal soils with sustainable inputs. [NP305, C1, PS1B]
Approach
The goal of our multi-disciplinary project is to enable growers to increase both ecological sustainability and economic competitiveness in modern fruit production systems. Entomological, computer engineering, horticultural and post-harvest plant pathology disciplines, and expertise will be integrated within this project to accomplish proposed objectives and generate new knowledge, technology, and tools. Objective 1 will utilize laboratory, semi-field and field-based behavioral and chemical ecology techniques to study invasive and persistent native pests, and result in monitoring tools and management strategies for invasive and persistent native pests of orchard and small fruit agroecosystems including brown marmorated stink bug, spotted lanterfly, spotted wing drosophila, and apple maggot fly. Objective 2 will include greenhouse and field-based horticultural studies of ‘Supersweet’ nectarine selections and transgenic apple rootstock overexpressing deep rooting gene (DRO1), and development of a simple computer vision and/or robotic system for plant phenotyping. New knowledge generated will provide optimized production practices for ‘Supersweet’ nectarines, new knowledge of whole tree physiology and rootstock-scion interactions enabling growers to customize fruit tree orchards based on production region, and plant phenotyping technology enabling optimal identification of superior cultivars, clones, rootstocks, and rootstock/scion combinations for improved crop quality. Objective 3 will include greenhouse and field studies aimed at improving advanced machine harvesting technology for fresh market blueberry, alternative systems for the management of primocane-fruiting blackberries that can be used to improve and increase yield from late summer to early winter, and new knowledge on plant response to short wavelength light irradiation to enable earlier harvest times; and studies aimed at establishing orchard technology. Objective 4 will include studies of alternative methods for controlling pre- and post-harvest brown rot fruit decays with heat and GRAS materials, and of UV-C irradiation technology with specific dark period and microbial antagonists against pre- and post-harvest diseases and arthropod pests.
Progress Report
We have continued to track the impact of the invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) on cultivated crops including Vitis vinifera (wine grape) for Objective 1. We currently are monitoring SLF invasion into commercial vineyards using behaviorally compatible traps and evaluating an experimental threshold and effective insecticides for their management in experimental vineyard blocks. We also have conducted semi-field trials with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to determine if this technology can be used to evaluate dispersal in vineyards, and have completed studies simulating human-assisted dispersal on vehicles using a large laminar flow fan. Because non-nutritive sugars have performed very poorly as toxicants against apple maggot and spotted wing drosophila in semi-field trials, we will be using conventional insecticides as toxicants in the future and work with IR-4 to enable this usage.
For objective 2, growth chamber studies with own-rooted DRO1 apple germplasm uncovered that DRO1 overexpression led to better drought tolerance independent of root length or biomass compared with untransformed control. Leaf tissue were collected for transcriptomic analysis and hormone quantification to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Additional grafts of ‘Enterprise’ on DRO1 rootstocks were made for drought experiments. Optimization of phenotyping structures and workflows is in process to non-destructively capture key root architecture traits. Tree growth and phenology of high-sugar advanced selections and standard nectarine cultivars grafted on four rootstocks were tracked in the field trial. Additionally, results of fruit evaluation of four high-sugar populations in the Kearneysville germplasm identified the seedlings exhibiting the Supersweet trait.
For Objective 3, work was published on phenotyping for table grape quality. This program has continued to transition to numerical analysis and best methods for essential computer vision problems, such as triangulation.
For Objective 4, RNA sequencing was completed for 54 UV-C treated and untreated control strawberry leaves and fruits. Reads were trimmed, filtered based on quality scores, and mapped to the Fragaria x ananassa Camarosa Genome. Differentially expressed genes were identified in strawberry leaves and fruits in response to UV-C treatment. Monilinia isoaltes (causative agent of brown rot) were collected from commercial cherry orchards in West Viriginia.
For Objective 5, total RNAs have been extracted from 68 samples collected from apple trees in the mid-Atlantic with a history of rapid apple decline (RAD). Additionally, rosy apple aphid, a potential vector for apple viruses associated with RAD, were collected from 10 trees. Forty Fusarium isolates were collected from pome fruit crops, and morphologically and molecularly characterized. Fusarium sp. have been associated with RAD in some growing regions. Methylobacteria greenhouse trials were conducted, and fire blight disease severity measurements were taken. Total RNA was isolated from methylobacteria treated flowers and leaves to evaluate the timing of the induction of defense responses by methylobacteria to refine application timing for optimal disease management.
For Objective 6, prototype installations and staff training of the Open_Irr automated irrigation controller were conducted with two collaborating entities. Firmware improvements were incorporated into multiple agricultural sensor systems under development. A large installation of horticultural sapflow sensors was completed in Washington for ongoing research on deficit irrigation practices. Completed the first full calendar year of ecosystem carbon flux estimates using eddy-covariance on land slated for orchard installation. Deep-core soil samples for carbon balance estimates were obtained and processed.
Accomplishments
Review Publications
Park, Y., Choi, K., Cullum, J.P., Hoelmer, K.A., Weber, D.C., Morrison Iii, W.R., Rice, K.B., Krawczyk, G., Fleischer, S.J., Hamilton, G., Ludwick, D., Nielsen, A.L., Kaser, J.M., Polk, D., Shrewsbury, P.M., Bergh, J., Kuhar, T.P., Leskey, T.C. 2024. Landscape-scale spatiotemporal dynamics of Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) populations: implications for spatially-based pest management. Pest Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7772.
Hadden, W., Brewster, C.C., Leskey, T.C., Bergh, J. 2023. Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) trap captures at orchard and non-orchard sites and the influence of uncultivated woody host plants in adjoining woodlots. Journal of Economic Entomology. 116(6):2076-2084. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad190.
Elsensohn, J., Nixon, L., Kloos, A., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Development and survivorship of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) on cultivated and native Vitis spp. (Vitales: Vitaceae) of the Eastern United States. Journal of Economic Entomology. 116(6):2207-2211. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad198.
Nixon, L., Barnes, C., Wilson, C.C., Rugh, A.D., Carper Jr, G.L., Leskey, T.C., Tang, L. 2023. Short- and long-term effects of season-long infestation of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera:Fulgoridae) on young apple (Malus domestica) and peach (Prunus persica) trees. Journal of Economic Entomology. 116(6):2062-2069. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad187.
Bierer, A.M., Tang, L. 2024. Drought responses in three apple cultivars using an autonomous sensor-based irrigation system. HortScience. 59(4):431-441. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17520-23.
Nixon, L.J., Douglas, M., Ibrahim, A., Jones, S., Pinero, J.C., Leskey, T.C. 2024. Effects of non-nutritive sugar inclusion in laboratory diets and attracticidal spheres on survivorship and mobility of 2 Dipteran species, Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae003.
Nixon, L.J., Barnes, C., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Assessing acceptability of wild and cultivated hosts of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) under semifield conditions. Environmental Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad078.
Dechaine, A.C., Pfeiffer, D.G., Kuhar, T.P., Salom, S.M., Leskey, T.C., McIntyre, K.C., Walsh, B., Speer, J.H. 2023. Dendrochronology reveals different effects among host tree species from feeding by Lycorma delicatula (white). Frontiers in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1137082.
Hepler, J.R., Cooper, W.R., Cullum, J.P., Dardick, C.D., Dardick, L.C., Nixon, L., Pouchnik, D.J., Raupp, M., Shrewsbury, P., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Do adult Magicicada (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) feed? Historical perspectives and evidence from molecular gut content analysis. Journal of Insect Science. 23(5). Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iead082.
Elsensohn, J., Wolford, S.D., Tabb, A., Leskey, T.C. 2024. Experimental evidence supports the ability of spotted lanternfly to hitchhike on vehicle exteriors as a mechanism for anthropogenic dispersal. Proceedings of the Royal Society. B. Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240493.