NC-226: Development of Pest Management Strategies for Forage Alfalfa Persistence
The overall goal of the NC-226 regional research project is to address a critical concern of farmers: the significant reduction in alfalfa stand life caused by pests. Although alfalfa can persist in stands for many years, ecological and physiological factors act in concert with the pest community (e.g., weeds, pathogens, arthropods, nematodes) to shorten the life of stands. The resulting lack of persistence significantly reduces profit and, in locations and periods of severe stress, effectively prevents profitable cultivation of alfalfa.
Stresses imposed by such factors as unfavorable growing conditions, interference by weeds, and injury by pathogens, nematodes, and arthropod pests significantly shorten stand life. At times single factors such as a key pest species may threaten productive stand life, but more typically loss of stands results from stresses imposed by several factors. Similarly, specific crop management practices affect not only the crop directly, but the interaction between pest populations and crop. Also, the nature of these effects must be studied from a regional, or even national, perspective for a clear understanding. Thus, the complex issue of alfalfa persistence requires the input of a multidisciplinary and multistate team. As a result, this project will focus on an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to crop and pest management for improving stand longevity.
The research objectives are:
To elucidate mechanisms by which biotic agents interact with abiotic factors to limit stand persistence of forage alfalfa
To enhance alfalfa persistence through improved plant resistance to key pests by conventional breeding and genetic engineering approaches
To identify and enhance biological and cultural control measures that reduce pest populations and improve forage alfalfa persistence
To integrate control measures with decision-making guidelines for adoption by specific states/regions.
Details on methods and results to date may be found elsewhere on this site.