Developing Innovative Tools and Alternatives to Pesticides
The laboratory is located in Quincy, FL at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC), a 2.5-hour drive from the main UF campus in Gainesville. The main objective of our team is to use knowledge of insect and invertebrate behavior to develop environmentally sound methods against pest insects that vector plant pathogens.
We use three main approaches to developing innovative tools and alternatives to pesticides:
- First, through a better understanding of the behavior of the targeted pest or of its host, our goal is to identify compounds or visual cues that can be used in the context of Integrated Pest Management.
- Second, we are developing different types of repellents to apply directly as an alternative to insecticides.
- Third, we approach pest management at the landscape level. For instance, we are investigating the benefit of flower strips along the border of agricultural crops to attract natural enemies and pollinators.
Since its creation, our lab has worked on a wide range of pests and commodities, including MEAM1 whitefly Bemisia tabaci, ambrosia beetles, air potato, rose rosette disease, western flower thrips, pepper weevil, and Asian citrus psyllid.
We also provide Extension information to local tomato, citrus, and cucurbit growers as well as homeowners.