Speaker Bio: Dr. Tracy Leskey holds a Ph.D. degree in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA; a M.S. Degree in Ecology from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; and a B.S .degree from Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. She is the Director of and Research Entomologist at the USDA-ARS, Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, WV and is an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Tech. Her research has focused on development of behaviorally-based management tools for invasive and native pests of fruit crops. She has published over 180 peer-reviewed journal articles, three patents and over 40 other publications including book chapters and proceeding articles. Dr. Leskey has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and NPR, has appeared live on Fox News and C-SPAN and has done several stories with National Geographic.
Description: Mating disruption is becoming an essential tool for managing key orchard pests in the Northeast. This session will highlight practical guidance from recent USDA-ARS Leskey Lab research on using pheromone-based disruption for codling moth, oriental fruit moth, and major borers.
Growers will learn the basics of how disruption works, how to choose and deploy dispensers effectively, and how to integrate the approach into existing monitoring and spray programs.