Air Potato Biological Control Extension Needs Assessment

Abstract

A new initiative is helping connect land managers struggling with invasive air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) with a new weapon in our arsenal: the air potato leaf beetle (Lilioceris cheni). Host specificity testing conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS) Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale demonstrated that the beetle would only feed on the intended target plant. Larvae and adults feed predominantly on air potato leaves and occasionally on bulbils and do considerable damage to the plant. Program partners include University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, USDA–ARS, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. The Air Potato Biological Control Extension Needs Assessment was conducted to help better target outreach efforts for this initiative. This Extension Needs Assessment 1) analyzed end users’ perceived knowledge of air potato and the role of IPM and biological control in the plant’s management; 2) analyzed end users’ preferred methods of obtaining information on air potato IPM strategies; 3) determined the characteristics, needs and priorities of the target audience; and 4) determined types and numbers of educational resources currently being used by end users to manage air potato.