Psidium cattleianum Sabine (strawberry guava) is one of Hawai‘i’s most disruptive alien plants. Dense stands can suppress growth and establishment of native species, support high populations of crop-damaging fruit flies, and preclude restoration or management of native forests. Our research investigated factors affecting persistence of P. cattleianum seeds in lowland wet forest soils. We collec...

The primary objective of this study was to map the distribution and abundance of firetree (Myrica faya) in the state of Hawai`i. Reconnaissance data were used to map 85,912 a (34,365 ha) of infestation throughout the State. Infestations of 72,265 a (28,906 ha) occur on the island of Hawai`i, 4,770 a (1,908 ha) on Maui, 2,518 a (1,007 ha) on Lana`i, 435 a (174 ha) on O`ahu, and 5,925 a (2,370 ha...

Apple is one of the most important temperate fruit to Brazil economy, and the use of synthetic chemicals has been the main method for reducing postharvest diseases, such as the blue mold, caused by Penicillium expansum. This work intends to evaluate the practical utilization of chitosan for blue mold control. For this purpose, fruits were treated in a preventive and curative way, immersing the ...

The constitutive characters of plants can be structural or biochemical and play an important role in their defence against pathogens. Citrus postbloom fruit drop (PFD) caused by Colletotrichum spp. is one of the most important fungal diseases of citrus. The pathogen infects the flowers, leading to premature fruit drop and reducing citrus production. However, flower buds smaller than 8 mm long a...

D. suzukii is a relatively recent and destructive pest species to the North American soft-skinned fruit industry. Understanding this species' potential to shift in abundance and range due to changing climate is an important part of an effective mitigation and management strategy. We parameterized a temperature-driven D. suzukii population dynamics model using temperature data derived from sever...