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Cesar Rodriguez-Saona leads the entomology program at the Rutgers P.E. Marucci Center. The program focuses on the development and implementation of cost-effective reduced-risk insect pest management practices for blueberries and cranberries through the integration of chemical, behavioral, and biological methods in insect control and a better understanding of the ecology of insect herbivores and their natural enemies.
Ongoing projects include studies on the ecological functions of herbivore-induced plant volatiles and their applications in integrated pest management, evaluation of mating disruption for oriental beetle control in blueberries, attract-and-kill approaches for managing the invasive pest spotted wing drosophila, evaluation of plant resistance and disease infection on insect populations, spatial distribution of insects in blueberries for site-specific pest management, and efficacy of new environmentally-sound chemicals for insect control in blueberries and cranberries.
Rodriguez-Saona’s work has resulted in the registration and implementation of a formulation for mating disruption of oriental beetle in blueberries. Together with the IR-4 project, the team has worked toward the registration of several reduced-risk and organophosphate replacement insecticides for blueberries and cranberries.
Rodriguez-Saona’s extension program delivers pest management information to growers by conducting on-farm demonstration trials, presentations, and extension publications.