Development of the Mason Bee, Osmia cornifrons, as a Targeted Delivery System for Biocontrol Agents in the Management of Fire Blight

Introduction This is a multi-disciplinary effort between entomologists and a plant pathologist to address three research priorities as set by the 2008 SHAP research committee. We propose developing a pollinator alternative to the honey bee which specializes in pollinating fruit trees and is not susceptible to the virus causing the Colony Collapse Disorder nor to the mite problems devastating the nation’s honey bee industry and feral honey bee populations. As a rosaceous specialist pollinating tree fruit, and with a relatively limited foraging range, the Japanese Orchard Bee (JOB), Osmia cornifrons, is a good candidate to serve as a vector for delivering biological control agents to control fire blight, while limiting the spread of this disease from hosts outside the orchard and from spreading the disease between orchards. Biopesticide alternatives to Streptomycin for fire blight control have suffered from lack of efficacy most often associated with the inability to adequately deliver the biological agent directly to the flower stigma at a high enough dose with current sprayer technology. These biocontrol products are compatible with organic production and are considered of reduced risk to the environment by EPA. If their efficacy can be improved through targeted delivery to open flowers, they would form a key tool in strategies aimed at reducing the risk of resistance to streptomycin in Pennsylvania pome fruit orchards. Successful implementation would also help alleviate concerns over possible impacts of antibiotics on the environment and the possible development of cross-resistance in human pathogens.