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About Ash Sial

Dr. Ash Sial is Associate Professor in Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia. He has had extensive training in agricultural entomology from various institutions. He earned his Ph.D. in Entomology from Washington State University where he worked with apple growers to develop sustainable IPM programs for major pests of tree fruits. After graduation, he accepted a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist position at University of California, Berkeley and worked with winegrape growers to develop sustainable IPM programs aimed at managing exotic and emerging arthropod pests such as vine mealybug, and the diseases transmitted by mealybugs such as grapevine leafroll disease. He then joined Cornell University to investigate various aspects of biology and ecology of an invasive insect pest – spotted wing drosophila, which has recently emerged as a major threat to fruit production in the United States. Currently, he serves as the blueberry entomologist and IPM Coordinator for Georgia. At the University of Georgia, the goals of his research program are to investigate biology and ecology of major arthropod pests of blueberries in order to develop sustainable IPM programs, and disseminate that information to all stakeholders including commercial blueberry producers in a timely and convenient manner. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, delivered research and Extension presentations including invited guest lectures and a keynote address. He has also served professional societies including Entomological Society of America (ESA) in a leadership role at the regional and national levels. He has been recognized for excellence in research productivity and professional leadership at the regional and national level with several prestigious awards including the John Henry Comstock Award.

Thrips Management Survey

Dear blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry growers and industry professionals:   A national team of researchers led by Dr. Ash Sial (UGA) with representatives from multiple states across the United States is planning a project to develop sustainable management of thrips including flower thrips and chilli thrips in small fruit crops….
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Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD) Behavioral Control Webinar

Advances in Behavior-Based Tactics for Management of Spotted-Wing Drosophila Dec 8, 2022 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) Sustainable SWD Management SCRI Project team is is organizing their second annual webinar on December 8, 2022 at 12pm Eastern. This webinar will focus on the advances in behavior-based tactics for management of…
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UGA Suggested Insecticide Regime for Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD) Control in Blueberries

Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii) is an invasive pest of soft skinned fruit in the United States and has been detected throughout the southeast. Infestations were observed in some blueberries. SWD damage is similar to blueberry maggot. Female flies lay their eggs in ripening and ripe fruit, and larvae develop internally….
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Spotted-wing drosophila identification, monitoring, and management in Georgia blueberries

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive and economically important pest of many soft-skinned fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and other. Since its first detection in California in 2008, SWD spread rapidly across the United States. It was first found in Georgia in 2010…
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Fruit quality traits at harvest and postharvest shelf-life of the three Misses compared to Rebel and Suziblue southern highbush blueberry cultivars

Authors: Yi-Wen Wang, D. Scott NeSmith, Rachel Itle, Renée Holland, and Savithri Nambeesan. In this study we evaluated postharvest fruit quality attributes of five southern highbush cultivars, Miss Lilly, Miss Alice Mae, Miss Jackie, Rebel and Suziblue. This article summarizes the fruit quality attributes of these 5 cultivars shortly after harvest and…
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Monitoring and Management of Flower Thrips in Blueberries

Flower thrips are chronic pests of both southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberries in the southeastern United States. Flower thrips are small insects, less than 1.5 mm long (0.06 inches), with slender bodies usually yellow to orange in color. Females are typically larger than males. Adult thrips have long narrow wings fringed with fine hairs. Adults and immatures, called nymphs, have rasping-sucking mouthparts, which they use to extract sap from plant cells. Immatures look like the adults except they are smaller and have no wings.

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Organic SWD Management Webinar

SWD OREI Project Team is scheduled to present a webinar on Organic Management of Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD) to provide a comprehensive update on strategies to manage SWD in organic production systems. Please register at: https://eorganic.org/node/34578 to attend this webinar. 

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Postharvest Keeping Quality of Southern Highbush, Rabbiteye, and Northern Highbush Blueberry Cultivars in Cold Storage

Part 1: Fruit Firmness Authors: Rion T. Mooneyham, Savithri U. Nambeesan, and Rachel A. Itle  This article is the first of a series from my master’s research.  Overall, this work is the examination and comparison of fruit quality traits in southern highbush (SHB), rabbiteye (RE), and northern highbush (NHB) cultivars in…
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