News from the Center

The summer of 2022 was a busy and productive one for the inaugural Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program. REEU is a program under the Stockbridge School and Agriculture (SSA) in partnership with UMass Extension and is currently funded to run through 2026. It aims to provide research training, professional development, and Extension experience to undergraduate students while reaching out to community colleges through paid full-time summer internships.

Grapevine Trunk Diseases, or GTDs, are the bane of vineyard owners worldwide, and as of 2012, were responsible for more than $1.5 billion in annual economic damages. While researchers have long known that a host of pathogenic fungi combine to gang up on grapevines, the mechanics of how these GTD-causing fungi work has remained a mystery. 

New research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, finds that the ecological effect of invasive species alone is comparable to the combined effects of invasives plus warming temperatures, drought or nitrogen deposition. This suggests that a critical preparation for climate change is to manage invasive species at the local level.

An international team led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst food and environmental virologist has received a $750,000 USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) partnership grant to develop and test portable, rapid biosensors capable of detecting noroviruses and mycotoxins in foods and agricultural products. It is among the first partnership grants awarded with an international partner by the USDA.

“If we think about it, there’s a reason so many of our New England communities have an Elm Street... there once were elms everywhere,” states Richard (Rick) Harper, extension associate professor and urban forester, as he trims weeds among the research elm specimens at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Though once commonplace, mature elm trees, with their iconic vase-shaped branches, are now found mostly in archival photographs.

“Circle Your Wagons” was the cry of stagecoach drivers in the old west to prevent attacks while protecting those in the inner circle. Jaime Piñero, University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension professor, is researching a similar scheme to help apple growers.

The Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association (MFGA) held its annual summer meeting on July 14 at Clarkdale Fruit Farm, Deerfield. Several extension fruit educators from the University of Massachusetts were on hand to share research on issues ranging from insects and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to seasonal diseases that affect growers across the Commonwealth.

The UMass Cranberry Station in East Wareham, the 100-year-old premier research facility on cranberry production, is due to get a laboratory infrastructure upgrade and addition in the next 18 months or so. Funded with $5.75M from the Commonwealth and $2M from UMass Amherst, the construction project is now open for bids. Bid documents available here. General bids are due on June 9.  Sub-bids are due on May 26. There are walk-through times available, sorted by work type, on May 13. Read more...

Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula, an invasive insect native to Asia, was first detected in the United States in 2014, in southeastern Pennsylvania. This highly destructive pest has spread rapidly across the northeastern region of the United States. SLF has the potential to cause catastrophic damage to Massachusetts agricultural and horticultural industries. Update on SLF: July 23, 2021