** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** POLLINATOR SPECIES INCLUDE A WIDE RANGE OF ARTHROPODS AND OTHER ORGANISMS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR MAINTENANCE OF MANY ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS. LOSSES OF POLLINATOR SPECIES CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE YIELDS OF OPEN-POLLINATED CROPS AND NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE ECOLOGY OF DESIREABLE AGRICULTURALLY-ALLIED AND NATURAL SYSTEMS. POLLINATOR SPECIES LOSSES HAVE BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED AND PESTICIDE-USE FOR CROP PRODUCTION/LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF SEVERAL FACTORS POTENTIALLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE LOSS. LITTLE RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON CONTAMINATION OF FLORAL RESOURCES (NECTAR AND POLLEN) IN ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. A PRELIMINARY STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE PIS FOUND THAT APPLICATION METHODS, RATES, AND TIMINGS CAN GREATLY INFLUENCE CONTAMINATION OF NECTAR USING SALVIA X 'INDIGO SPIRES' AS A MODEL SPECIES. CONCENTRATIONS IN NECTAR GREATLY EXCEEDED REPORTED TOXICITY THRESHOLDS FOR NATIVE BEES/HONEYBEES FOR SOME TREATMENTS, WHILE OTHERS WERE OF LESS CONCERN, INDICATING THAT SAFE APPLICATION WINDOWS MAY EXIST BUT NEED TO BE IDENTIFIED. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL EXPAND ON THE PRELIMINARY STUDY, WITH GOALS OF 1) CHARACTERIZING THE INFLUENCE OF PESTICIDE APPLICATION METHOD, RATES, AND TIMING ON CONTAMINATION OF FLORAL RESOURCES IN HERBACEOUS AND WOODY ORNAMENTAL SPECIES; 2) EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL FOR IDENTIFYING WINDOWS-OF-OPPORTUNITY WHEN SYSTEMIC PESTICIDES MAY BE APPLIED WITH LITTLE RISK OF FLORAL RESOURCE CONTAMINATION RELATIVE TO SELL DATES FOR PLANTS; AND 3) DETERMINING HOW QUICKLY PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION IN FLORAL RESOURCES DISSIPATES ONCE TREATED PLANTS ARE TRANSPLANTED INTO THE LANDSCAPE.THIS PROJECT WILL USE CYANTRANILIPROLE, FLUPYRADIFURONE, AND THIAMETHOXAM AS MODEL SYSTEMIC INSECTICIDES AND MYSTY SALVIA AND BLOOMIFY LANTANA AS MODEL HERBACEOUS AND WOODY ORNAMENTALS, RESPECTIVELY. ROOTED LINERS OF THE EACH SPECIES WILL BE PLANTED IN 3-GALLON NURSERY CONTAINERS. FOR DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF APPLICATION METHOD ON FLORAL RESOURCE CONTAMINATION, PESTICIDES WILL BE APPLIED AS DRENCHES OR AS SPRAYS. ALL OF THESE PESTICIDES ARE LABELED FOR APPLICATION THROUGH BOTH MEANS, THOUGH THE RATES OF APPLICATION DIFFER. PESTICIDES WILL BE APPLIED AT LOW, MEDIUM, AND HIGH RATES SPECIFIED ON THE LABELS FOR EACH PESTICIDE AND APPLICATION METHOD. ALL PLANTS FOR EACH PESTICIDE-PLANT COMBINATION WILL BE PURCHASED AND ESTABLISHED AT THE SAME TIME. TO EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF PESTICIDE APPLICATION TIMING ON CONTAMINATION, THE PESTICIDES WILL BE APPLIED BEFORE THE PLANTS FORM FLOWERS (APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK AFTER POTTING THE LINERS IN 3 GALLON POTS) TO ONE SET OF PLANTS, JUST BEFORE THE MAJORITY OF PLANTS BEGIN TO FORM FLOWER BUDS FOR ANOTHER SET, AND JUST BEFORE FLOWER BUDS BEGIN TO OPEN FOR THE LAST SET. ONCE ALL PLANTS ARE FLOWERING, NECTAR AND POLLEN SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED FOR ANALYSIS BY UHPLC-MS/MS. NECTAR SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED USING GLASS CAPILLARIES AND ANTHERS WILL BE EXCISED AND SERVE AS A PROXY FOR POLLEN. FOLLO,WING SAMPLE COLLECTION, HALF OF THE REPLICATES WITHIN EACH TREATMENT GROUP WILL BE PRUNED TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THIS CULTURAL PRACTICE ON PESTICIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN SUBSEQUENT FLOWERS. ONCE THE PLANTS ARE ALL FLOWERING AGAIN SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED AS PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED. AT THE END OF THIS STUDY PHASE, ALL PLANTS WILL BE TRANSPLANTED INTO THE LANDSCAPE WITH ONE TO TWO MORE SAMPLINGS TO EVALUATE DISSIPATION OF RESIDUES ONCE THE PLANTS ARE IN THE LANDSCAPE.EACH PLANT-PESTICIDE EVALUATION WILL REQUIRE APPROXIMATELY FOUR MONTHS IN THE SHADE HOUSE FROM THE TIME THE ROOTED LINERS ARE RECEIVED AND AN ADDITIONAL TWO MONTHS IN THE FIELD. KEY MILESTONES WILL BE COMPLETION STUDIES FOR OF EACH PLANT-PESTICIDE COMBINATION. RESULTS FROM THE AGGREGATE OF STUDY RESULTS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME WILL BE ANALYZED AND PACKAGED FOR DELIVERY TO STAKEHOLDERS AS ABSTRACTS, PROCEEDINGS, REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES, PRESENTATIONS (POSTER AND ORAL) AT LOCAL AND PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS, AND INDIVIDUAL INTERACTIONS WITH THOSE INTERESTED.