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"Tracking the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug" shows growers and others how to identify BMSB, why this pest is important in agriculture, and what's at stake if we don't stop it. Also includes new videos to address recent developments in monitoring, trapping, management, and biological control.

This initiative includes more than 50 researchers from 10 institutions across the U.S. working together on this project team. The team of researchers has mobilized to form a defense against the invasive pest brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). The project team is working to find management solutions for growers, seeking strategies that will protect our food, our environment, and our farms.

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a sap-feeding insect native to Asia that feeds on more than 65 plant species and is projected to become a serious pest of specialty crops including grapes, tree fruit, ornamentals, and hardwoods. The goals for this project are to develop efficacious tactics for managing the invasive SLF, on vulnerable specialty crops to reduce the risk of widespread, catastrophic damage and to develop strategies for long-term SLF management.

Find spotted lanternfly (SLF) quarantine regulations and reporting information by state

See also: Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set for more resources

See also: Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set for more resources

See also: Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set for more resources

Ash and elm trees play important roles in the U.S. economy, culture, and environment. In the eastern United States, elm (especially American elm) and ash trees are in trouble because of two threats: the emerald ash borer (an insect that attacks ash) and Dutch elm disease (caused by a fungus that sickens elms). These pests are causing ash and elm trees to die off quickly. Because elm and ash trees serve important ecological roles where they are found, the loss of these trees can lead to profound changes across urban and rural environments.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus spreads much more aggressively in pigs than previous research suggests, according to a new study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. The study, recently published in Scientific Reports, shows that pigs infected with the FMD virus were highly contagious to other pigs just 24 hours after infection—long before showing any clinical signs of infection such as fever and blisters. Foot-and-mouth disease continues to be the most important foreign disease of livestock worldwide, said Jonathan Arzt, lead investigator and veterinary medical officer with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Although the United States has not had an FMD outbreak since 1929, this highly contagious viral disease, which is sometimes fatal, is still considered a serious threat to U.S. agriculture.

Laurel wilt has devastated plants in the Lauraceae family – redbay, sassafras, pondberry, avocado, and others – since it was first detected in the southeastern U.S. around 2002. There is no widespread, effective treatment for laurel wilt. Genetics research is focused on learning more about the pathogen's genetic structure in order to improve detection methods and screening for possible resistance in Lauraceae host species. "We have developed genetic markers to describe the population of the pathogen in the U.S.," says USDA Forest Service plant pathologist Tyler Dreaden. "Knowing which genotypes to use contributes to a quicker, more cost-effective resistance screening process." Dreaden led a new study to shed light on the genetic structure of the pathogen and its reproductive strategy. The research team included Marc Hughes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Randy Ploetz and Jason Smith at the University of Florida, and Adam Black, horticulture director of the Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation in Texas. Their findings were published in Forests.

See also: Common Disease Problems for more fact sheets