Whole Farm Organic Management of BMSB and other Pentatomids through Habitat Manipulation

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Brown marmorated stink bug poses a significant threat to organic production and farmers have an urgent need for effective organic pest management strategies. We have assembled a team of organic researchers, extension educators, and farmers that will coordinate whole-farm research focusing on the development and delivery of organic BMSB management. During the 2011 funding cycle, critical short-term solutions and experimental protocols for farmers were made available on the website developed through the planning grant. This novel website will continue to evolve with the addition of social media to immediately help organic farmers. This is a pest-centric proposal with a systems-level management approach. Our proposal has a direct relationship with OREI Objective 5 “Develop, evaluate and improve systems-based integrated pest management programs to address pest and pest-related problems for organically grown crops....” due to the severity of damage associated with BMSB and the lack of effective organic management strategies. We will identify organic BMSB management solutions throughout the country with a focus on field and vegetable crops due to its widespread establishment. Our proposal also meets two of the eight 2011 OREI legislatively-defined goals. The full proposal outcome will conduct “advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production and marketing and to socioeconomic conditions” meeting goal 6. As documented in Appendix 2, we have support from not only organic farmers but also the organic community at large. Organizations such as the Organic Trade Association, Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association, Virginia Association of Biological Farming and the Rodale Institute have voiced their support of this proposal and the need for research. In concert with eOrganic, many of these organizations will help to disseminate the sustainable management solutions identified from this proposal. The creation of the project team will aid in legislative goal 1 “Facilitating the development of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods”. Without a solution to BMSB in organic agriculture, farmers expecting to export their product will be severely limited. Already, some Mid-Atlantic farmers had produce rejected from processing due to BMSB damage (T. Leskey personal communication). Thus, this research will provide much needed solutions for organic farmers across the U.S.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date9/1/128/31/17

Funding

  • Rutgers University: $84,309.00

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