Funded Projects – 2023

PI: Dr. Rebecca Melanson
Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University
Amount Funded: $39,300

Researchers and Extension specialists from universities within the Southeastern U.S., many of whom are members of the well-established Southeast Vegetable Extension Workers (SEVEW) and contribute annually to the production of the Southeast U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook, will create content for MyIPM: Vegetables, a smart device application that builds off of the existing MyIPM App Series. IPM content will be produced for diseases and insects of cucurbits and tomatoes, and stakeholders will be educated on how to use the app to make better decisions for insect and disease management.

PI: Dr. Young-Ki Jo
Texas A&M University
Amount Funded: $29,971

The novel fungus Neofusicoccum caryigenum was identified and first reported as the primary cause of pecan leaf dieback in Georgia and Texas in 2021. This working group will address this new fungal pathogen by focusing on the development of a new IPM strategy for the Southern U.S., and will also be able to begin developing customized IPM strategies for regional pecan orchards, supporting future research and extension to mitigate pecan leaf dieback.

PI: Dr. Karen Vail
University of Tennessee
Amount Funded: $39,996

Delusional parasitosis (DP) is “a rare psychiatric disorder in which a person has the false and persistent belief of being infested by parasites (mites and lice), worms, insects, bacteria, or other small living organisms.” DP sufferers go to extremes trying to rid their home and body of parasites. They often apply pesticides, cleaners and other chemicals unnecessarily and unsafely to unlisted sites on the pesticide label, including themselves, family and their pets. Extension agents, pest management professionals and entomologists lack the training to assist these DP sufferers. This project uses a One Health approach, including a psychologist and psychiatrist along with Extension entomologists and pest management professionals, to maintain and enhance sustainable IPM infrastructure by better equipping the Extension agents, entomologists and pest management professionals in the southern region to handle suspected DP.

PI: Dr. Yoosook Lee
University of Florida – Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory
Amount Funded: $40,000

In the Southeastern United States, several mosquitoes of medical and veterinary importance are invasive mosquito species and their presence increases the risk of arbovirus transmission to humans and livestock. This continuing working group – Mosquito BEACONS: Biodiversity Enhancement And Control of Non-native Species – implements an IPM approach for the monitoring and control of invasive mosquito species in the Southern region by bringing together mosquito control, public health, private pest control, and academics to raise awareness of invasive mosquito species issues in the southern region. BEACONS is working to improve communication and collaboration opportunities, describe the surveillance capacity for invasive and non-native taxa, and train a cadre of IPM professionals across the southern region.

In year three, this working group plans to (1) develop online training resources that can provide invasive species information as well as continuing education credits for mosquito control professionals in both English and Spanish (2) Continue data curation for their online dashboard for IPM decision support and research, and (3) BEACONS PD and Co-PDs will travel to four state mosquito control association meetings.