Entomology & Nematology

T.R.E.C. Entomology & Nematology faculty are all off-campus faculty of the University of Florida, Department of Entomology & Nematology in Gainesville, FL.

Agricultural Entomology

This program focuses on developing sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) systems for vegetable crops in light of the phasing out of methyl bromide and increasing concerns of agricultural pollution in fragile ecosystems. Thus nematode-antagonistic legume cover crops, sunn hemp, cowpea, and velvet bean, are being developed as the biological component of a preventive IPM approach to tomato and pepper crops, requiring fumigation only when the densities of plant-parasitic nematodes and weeds are too high to be suppressed by cover crops and cultural measures alone. To cope with high densities, minimum effective concentrations of metam potassium, methyl iodide, and sodium azide applied under virtually impermeable film are being identified. Irrigation strategies and weed suppression technologies are being developed to help eliminate weed hosts for nematodes and pathogens, to prevent leaching of agricultural chemicals out of the root zone, and to conserve water. In addition, in collaboration with scientists throughout the Caribbean basin, this research program is working to help identify invasive pests in the Caribbean, and to find methods of control before they become established in Florida.

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Ornamental Plant Entomology

This program is geared towards providing sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) systems for ornamental crops. In this effort, the program is testing current and experimental pest management products for efficacy, developing a research program to incorporate entomopathogenic nematodes into pest management practices, and identifying and finding methods of control for existing and potentially invasive pests that affect the ornamental industry.

Catharine Mannion's Ornamental Entomology Website

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Tropical Fruit Entomology

This program focuses on pests affecting fruit crops grown under tropical conditions. Projects include determining economic thresholds for target pests, determining the impact of management procedures on secondary pests or existing non-economic organisms, establishing sampling procedures, and correlating weather data and tree phenology with primary and secondary pest population fluctuation. The program emphasizes biological control of key pests affecting tropical crops by developing strategies, tactics and systems to achieve the integrated management of pests of fruit crops and developing environmentally friendly systems in natural south Florida ecosystems.

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Vegetable Entomology

This program concentrates on the elucidation of the biology of major pests of vegetable crops and the development of management systems using a variety of methods. Primary focus is on thrips, whitefly, wireworms and pepper weevil with secondary focus on corn silk fly, fall armyworm, beet armyworm, diamondback moth and sweet potato weevil. Long-term goals include the integration of benign chemical insecticides with biocontrol agents to control insect pests of vegetables to provide more environmentally friendly pest management for farmers in south Florida.

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