The grant is issued through the Foundation’s Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) program, an initiative designed to prevent and mitigate damage from emerging pests and pathogens through short-term research funding. Applicants are encouraged to form broad-based coalitions to increase research collaboration and maximize the mitigation potential of each grant.
“Invasive pests pose a serious threat to the livelihood of Michigan’s cherry farmers,” said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “Michigan State University is a national leader in agriculture research with the expertise needed to quickly respond to threats to this important part of Michigan’s diverse agricultural economy.”
To date, few management systems have yielded both immediate and long-term solutions to combat this invasive pest. This grant will support the investigation of integrated pest management strategies with the potential to mitigate the damage caused by SWD not only in tart cherries, but also in other specialty crops including blueberries and raspberries.
“We are fortunate as a state to have excellent researchers working with growers on SWD,” said Phil Korson, executive director of the Cherry Marketing Institute. “The industry has supported research and MSU has received several national grants. I’m confident that, with the additional resources from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, our team will lead the way in developing a holistic plan for this pest.”
MSU researchers aim to tackle this issue three ways: 1) investigate suitability and optimal application techniques for current pesticides, 2) develop real-time SWD population maps to disseminate outbreak data and 3) provide direct outreach to farmers who will most benefit from improved SWD management.
Julianna Wilson, Ph.D., an entomologist and tree fruit outreach specialist at Michigan State University, will lead the team of collaborators.
“SWD is a serious concern for tart cherry growers. Their production costs have increased by 20-30 percent due to dealing with this pest,” said Wilson. “Our team of MSU researchers is building off preliminary research and going to new resources of external funding to find the most effective and cost-efficient integrated pest management strategies for growers.”
Co-principal investigators on this project include:
- Bill Ravlin, Ph.D., MSU professor and entomology department chair
- Larry Gut, Ph.D., professor at Michigan State University
- Rufus Isaacs, Ph.D., professor at Michigan State University
- Nikki Rothwell, extension specialist at Michigan State University
- John Wise, Ph.D., professor at Michigan State University
To ensure immediate and useful application of research findings, MSU collaborators will coordinate with a Consortium, Task Force and Advisory Committee formed under the umbrella of the Michigan SWD Initiative. Membership includes cherry growers and producers, MSU professors and Extension Educators and representatives of the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission, Michigan Farm Bureau Board of Directors, Michigan Cherry Committee, Michigan Tree Fruit Commission and Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Learn more about the ROAR program.
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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
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