Microscopic worms to the cranberry rescue
USDA ARS
Nematodes with a taste for insect innards may offer cranberry growers a natural alternative to fighting hungry crop pests with chemical insecticides.
Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Wisconsin (UW) are now exploring the possibility in field trials.
They ve set their sights on redheaded flea beetles, Sparganothis fruitworms and other cranberry pests that attack the cranberry plant itself or its tart-tasting fruit. Severe infestations can force growers to apply insecticides, ratcheting up their production costs. Developing alternative controls as part of an integrated pest management approach can reduce or replace the need for insecticides, noted Shawn Steffan, an entomologist with the ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wisconsin.