Grant: Engage Grants Program

Lowbush wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton., Ericaceae) is a natural fruit-bearing shrub, most commonly found in various regions of north-eastern North America, that has emerged as an important global commodity. The red-striped fireworm (RSF), Aroga trialbamaculella Chamb. (Order Lepidoptera: Family Gelechiidae), is a pest concern for several Vaccinium species. Its larvae feed on the leaves of blueberry, huckleberry and cranberry, in addition to other plants such as oak and locust. This initiative will develop a means for forecasting pest populations throughout Nova Scotia, and more importantly a basic understanding of RSF biology. Currently little is known about this insect, and by examining such species and developing an early-warning system, growers can be alerted to potential outbreak conditions. This endeavor will provide a range of benefits to the wild blueberry industry, specifically an improved monitoring technology to identify and quantify RSF populations across Nova Scotia to anticipate outbreak levels, and forecast the need for pesticide application. By improving trapping/monitoring technology, pest control costs can be ameliorated to some degree, by targeting time periods when insect pests are active. Furthermore, direct measures of pest population levels can dictate whether there is a distinct need for application in a given year. Decreasing pesticide input reduces control costs, and increases efficiency of control measures. Such monitoring techniques as pheromone trapping are economical, and simple to deploy, again maintaining an inexpensive addition for crop safety. Finally, RSF create concern when larvae are found within production lines for harvested blueberries. This effort will reduce concerns for both sanitation of production and an export contamination.