MUSHROOM FLIES AND FARMWORKERS: FLY ECOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND VECTOR COMPETENCY AND IPM IMPLEMENTATION AMONG HISPANIC MUSHROOM FARMWORKERS.
Open Access
- Author:
- Mazin, Maria Teresa
- Graduate Program:
- Entomology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 02, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Edwin George Rajotte, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Edwin George Rajotte, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Thomas C Baker, Committee Member
Nina Ellen Jenkins, Committee Member
John Andrew Pecchia, Outside Member
Melanie Joy Miller Foster, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Agaricus bisporus
Vector
Mutualism
Population dynamics
Perceived risk
Perceived control
Integrates Pest Management - Abstract:
- The mushroom sciarid fly, Lycoriella ingenua and the mushroom phorid fly Megaselia halterata are important pests in commercial mushroom farming in the U.S. The Mushroom Sciarid fly has been anecdotally associated with the occurrence of the fungal pathogen Trichoderma aggressivum ft. aggressivum in commercial mushroom farms. It has been reported that female L. ingenua are attracted to this fungus in mushroom compost for oviposition. The research presented in this dissertation shows that L .ingenua benefits from its attraction to the fungus and provides experimental evidence for the mushroom sciarid flys’ acquisition and mechanical vectoring of T.aggressivum spores, proving that the association between organisms is mutual. The ecology and behavior of the mushroom phorid fly outside mushroom farms in the U.S. has not been studied. This dissertation presents data on the flight activity, distribution and behavioral aspects of M. halterata in and around commercial mushroom farms in Chester County, PA. Specifically, flight activity and mating behavior in relation to the time of day. Results have implications for fly management such as timing of farm activity to improve fly exclusion and the use of mating disruption techniques. M. halterata population dynamics within commercial mushroom crops is characterized and factors related to fly density is analyzed and discussed. Mushroom Integrated Pest Management is crucial to the success of mushroom farming in PA. The success of IPM depends on the extent to which it is implemented by farm owners and farmworkers alike. A study where the effect of mushroom farmworkers perceptions around mushroom pests and diseases on farmworker IPM behaviors is presented. Results show that high risk and control perceptions around mushroom pests and pathogens rather than knowledge on IPM predicts whether farmworkers will engage in IPM behaviors on the job. These results have applications for the development of IPM intervention programs among mushroom farmworkers.