Project Number: 6202-21000-029-03
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Apr 03, 2008
End Date: Apr 02, 2009

Objective:
1) Identify feeding preferences of FST on pecan and hickory cultivars. 2) Identify olfaction preferences of FST for green leaf volatiles on pecan and hickory cultivars. 3) Identify resistant seedlings of pecan or hickory to FST attack and catalog the symptoms of attack through the evaluation of laboratory/greenhouse bioassays. 4) Identify the threat potential of FST to pecan producers in Texas counties where known FST infestations occur, through the development of a probabilistic stochastic economic impact model for FST invasion to pecan growing activities in those areas. 5) Educate local pecan producers (and other agroforestry producers) about the need for monitoring, surveillance, and possible remedial control techniques for FST.

Approach:
Wood samples will be screened for FST feeding preferences. The attraction of FST to green leaf volatiles from the same germplasm lines will be evaluated through ofactometry, exposing FST to airstreams of green-leaf volatiles in preference assays. Any specimens not available from the NCGR will be obtained from other collections or by collection trips. In addition to evaluating native Carya species, we will screen selected Asian species for potential sympatric resistance to FST.