The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is hosting a free webinar entitled “Sustaining Avocado Production in the Face of the Lethal Laurel Wilt.” The webinar will introduce attendees to a new research project by Dr. Paul Rugman-Jones focused on laurel wilt and ambrosia beetles. As part of this project, Dr. Rugman-Jones is looking to survey California avocado groves located in Ventura, San Diego and Riverside/San Bernardino Counties.
The laurel wilt webinar will discuss:
- Highlights of the entomology research
- Host resistance and susceptibility
- Conventional and biological laurel wilt control
- Accessing laurel wilt and cold tolerance of avocado selections
- Relating within-tree movement of the laurel wilt pathogen to tree sap flow and stem anatomy
- Managing regional and national risk
- Economic evaluation of laurel wilt management strategies
Online registration for the laurel wilt seminar is now available.