Location: Chemistry Research
Project Number: 6036-22430-001-012-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Mar 1, 2026
End Date: Mar 31, 2029
Objective:
The overall objective of this proposal is to examine how interactions among florivores, pesticides, and pollinators affect pollinator health and pollination success in fruit crops in order to develop informed integrated pest and pollinator management strategies. The specific objectives of the proposal include: Obj. 1: Examine effects of flower thrips on floral traits (e.g., flower morphology) and rewards (e.g. pollen and nectar amounts and chemistry) under different temperature regimes. Obj. 2: Measure how pollinator recruitment and subsequent pollination services are affected by the intensity of thrips infestation at varying levels and the applications of three insecticides used to control thrips, and Obj. 3: Examine the effects of pesticides used against florivores on pollinator health, and determine how the timing, weather conditions, and combinations of insecticide applications mediate these effects in order to develop application recommendations for minimizing bee risk.
Approach:
Obj 1. Southern highbush blueberry and strawberry plants will be purchased from a local nursery and placed in six growth chambers assigned to one of six treatments including: cool temperatures with and without thrips, average temperatures with and without thrips, and high temperatures with and without thrips. These temperatures represent the range of typical conditions during strawberry and blueberry bloom in the USA and including under heat waves. After infestation, thrips population growth will be assessed, as well as nectar sugars and amount, and pollen amount and chemical composition.