UF researchers may have discovered a cheaper way to deter pests from avocado trees.
Researchers with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, in a study published Feb. 18, found a repellent, made from methyl salicylate, that deters beetles on avocado trees. The chemical is emitted by the redbay tree, which is similar to avocado plants, said Xavier Martini, a UF professor of entomology at the institute’s North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, Florida.
The chemical will prevent redbay ambrosia beetles from injecting deadly laurel wilt fungus into the trees, which grow mainly in southern Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Florida avocados contribute $100 million a year to Florida’s economy, according to a UF press release.
Martini said researchers tested the chemicals on redbay trees and will begin testing its efficiency on avocado trees within a year.
“We have a 90-percent reduction on the attacks from beetles on our logs,” he said.
Avocado growers use verbenone to repel the beetles, but it costs about $500 per kilogram, Martini said. When verbenone is combined with methyl salicylate, it will be cheaper.
Mark Philcox, the president of Grove Services Miami Inc., said because of the fungus, it’s hard for growers to decide if they should grow avocados in the first place.
“It’s costing between $100 and $125 a tree to dispose of it, and it’s affecting the production,” Philcox said. “When you replant a tree it takes seven years before it’s in full production, so that’s money out on that end too.”
