EAB University will hold an EAB Resistance Breeding Program Update webinar on October 6th from 1 to 2 pm ET.
Although emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, EAB) has decimated ash populations in large parts of the natural range in the northeastern U.S., in some stands a few trees, called lingering ash, remain alive.
In this webinar, Mary Mason from the Northern Research Station will discuss how scientists clonally replicated these lingering ash trees and used them in bioassay experiments of adult EAB feeding preference and larval development.
They found that many lingering ash genotypes killed more EAB larvae and some were more effective at suppressing larval development compared to susceptible trees. Scientists are now evaluating the lingering ash in plantings, and carefully estimating the genetic diversity using DNA based markers. Over the next few years, the data will be combined to build the first improved seed orchards for white and green ashes.
To take part in this webinar, register at EAB Network