Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research
Project Number: 2092-30400-001-005-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 15, 2026
End Date: Dec 30, 2027
Objective:
Demonstrate and expand new and improved strategies for early detection of LCD and management of leafhopper vectors of X-disease by expanding and demonstrating the use of canines for detection of infected trees in nursery production and asymptomatic trees in fruit-producing orchards.
Approach:
The cooperator has trained two dogs to detect little cherry disease-infected trees and demonstrated the utility of canine detection for monitoring in both nursery and orchard systems. To expand this capacity, the cooperator will purchase of two additional dogs and six kennels, enabling coverage of a larger portion of Washington’s nursery and orchard acreage. Established orchard blocks with variable infection levels at the USDA research farm near Moxee, WA will be used to train dogs under real orchard and nursery conditions. In addition, dogs will be trained to differentiate infected and uninfected bareroot sapling bundles to simulate typical nursery shipments. All dog identifications will be verified using standard molecular diagnostic tests to ensure accuracy and to support continued refinement of training protocols.