FHTET BIOPESTICIDE PROGRAM ONGOING PROJECTS

Gypchek nucleopolyhedrovirus for gypsy moth Awarded 5-year contract with Sylvar (a Canadian company) to produce 25,000 acre equivalents Developed a commercially produced carrier – Carrier 038A available through Omnova Solutions (Chester, SC) Coordinate the use of gypchek as part of the Gypsy Moth Cooperative Suppression, Eradication, and Slow-the-Spread Programs Maintain state registrations (WI, OH, NC, WV, VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY)

TM-Biocontrol-1 nucleopolyhedrovirus for Douglas-fir tussock moth Developed a commercially produced carrier – Carrier 038A available through Omnova Solutions (Chester, SC) Maintain state registrations (OR, WA, ID, NM, CA, CO)

Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae Commercially produced - boreGONE® (Phyllom BioProducts) Strain of Bt with high activity against certain species of beetles Evaluated in lab and small-scale field trials for control of emerald ash borer adults feeding on ash foliage Limited efficacy due to formulation and application inconsistencies

Lecanicillium muscarium Fungus in commercial product Mycotal® (Koppert Biological Systems, Netherlands) for HWA control Preliminary trials - aerial application of Mycotal® hemlock forest in TN and ground application in VT Application of Mycotal® arresteded HWA population growth, control trees HWA continued to expand

Verticillium nonalfalfae V. nonalfalfae first observed causing wilt and mortality to tree-of-heaven in south central Pennsylvania forests Inoculation studies and host-range susceptibility testing showed that V. nonalfalfae may be a low-risk agent for controlling tree-of-heaven Testing different formulations of the fungus to determine which is most effective and usable by land managers

Pyricularia grisea phytotoxic metabolites Developing fungal grass pathogen’s phytotoxic metabolites for inundative control of invasive bufflegrass in environmentally sensitive areas (e.g. Sonoran Desert) This foliar pathogen already occurs on bufflegrass in North America Characterize the phytotoxins produced by strains of P. grisea from bufflegrass and examine their ability to cause disease-life damage on bufflegrass host plants