Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF PEST AND DISEASES IN CROP AND ANIMAL PRODUCTION INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT OF THE SOUTHERN GREEN STINK BUG, NEZARA VIRIDULA ON TOMATO CROP USING TRAP AND REFUGE CROPS IN NORTH FLORIDA Muhammad Haseeb1, T. Gordon1, Jesusa Legaspi2 and L. Kanga1, 1Center for Biological Control, 1
College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, 2USDA, ARS, Tallahassee, FL 32317 Keywords: Southern Green Stinkbug, Nezara viridula, IPM, Trap Crops, Refuge Crop, North Florida.
Abstract The Southern Green Stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a serious insect pest of tomato crop in tropical and sub-tropical countries. This stinkbug is difficult to control with currently available insecticides. In this study we investigated the potential use of three trap crops and three varieties of refuge crops in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for N. viridula on tomatoes during two growing seasons. The experimental trap crops were striped sunflower (Helianthus annuus), wild game feed sorghum, (Sorghum bicolor); brow top millet (Panicum ramosum) in 2014 and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in 2015. The refuge crops were three varieties of sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) (carpet of snow, royal carpet and tall white). Among the three trap crops, the number of stink bugs collected from the wild game feed sorghum exceeded the cumulative number from sunflower and none were collected from either species of millet. Sorghum attracted a statistically significant higher number of adults compared to other trap crops, however, both sunflower and sorghum served as host plants for N. viridula. In addition, 82% of stink bugs collected from sorghum were parasitized by Trichopoda pennipes (Fabricius), a natural enemy of late instar nymphs and adult stages of N. viridula. Although fewer stinkbugs were found on sunflower, this trap crop was found to be a good source of other natural enemies and pollinators, and also attracted a significantly higher number of the brown stinkbug Euschistus servus (Say) [another hemipteran pest]. While this study demonstrated the effectiveness of sorghum to attract N. viridula. Therefore, sorghum could be planted with another trap crop preferably sunflower to increase effectiveness of the preventive control strategy. Among refuge crops, all varieties of Lobularia maritima attracted natural enemies. The carpet of snow variety attracted the greatest diversity of natural enemies of insect pests. The tall white variety was also very effective in attracting Geocoris punctipes (Say) in tomato crop. The population of N. viridula was significantly lower in the experimental plots than in the control, indicating that trap cropping and refuge cropping may be effective management tools for N. viridula in a tomato cropping system. The results of this field study confirmed the potential of selected trap crops and refuge crops for IPM of N. viridula on tomato crops in north Florida. Materials and methods Tomato crop, trap crops and refuge crops were planted at the Center for Viticulture and Small Fruits Research in Tallahassee, FL. Trap crops and refuge crops were selected based on previous studies (Tillman, 2006; Franket et al. 2008; Mizell, 2008, 2015; Majumdar, 2014) and recommendations from collaborators from the USDA, Agricultural Research Station in Tallahassee, FL (Legaspi and Miller, 2013; personal communication). All seeds were purchased from Gramlings (Tallahassee, FL), Johnny’s Seed (Ft. Myers, FL) and Harris Seeds (Paul Road Rochester, NY). Trap crops, refuge crops and main vegetable crops (Table 1) were planted in 60 ft. (18.2 m) rows. Common Name Tomato var: marglobe Striped sunflower Brown top millet (2014) Pearl millet (2015) Wild game feed sorghum Sweet alyssum var.: carpet of snow, royal carpet, tall white
Family Solanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae Poaceae Poaceae Brassicaceae
Scientific Name Solanum lycopersicum Helianthus annuus Panicum ramosum Pennisetum glaucum Sorghum bicolor Lobularia maritima
Collection Method/Tool* Handpicked Sweep Net/Aspirator Sweep Net Sweep Net Sweep Net Vacuum
*Sweep net with handle from Bioquip: 15” diameter collapsible net, 12” net handle extension; Bioquiop Aspirator with 9-dram clear styrene tubes and snap-on caps; Hand insect vacuum (Craftsman): 19.2 volt. Table 1. Tomato crop, trap crops and refuge crops monitored, May to July 2014 & 2015.
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