Preventative Treatments for Mole Cricket Control in North Carolina, 1993

A trial was conducted at Oak Island Golf and Country Club (Brunswick Co.) to determine the efficacy of two rates and two formulations of Merit insecticide (NTN33898) as a preventive residual treatment for the control of mole crickets. Test plots (20 ft × 20 ft) were established on the bermudagrass fairway of hole 17 in an area which has a history of mole cricket problems. Treatments (3 replicates) were applied on the morning of 1 Jul after a light irrigation of the plots. Sprays were applied with a CO2 powered backpack sprayer using 8002 nozzles and operating at a pressure of 40 psi. Granular treatments were applied using shaker jars to deliver appropriate amounts of insecticide to each plot. Air temperature was 84°F and soil temperature was 79°F. The sandy mineral soil had 1.0% humic matter and a pH of 6.3. Fairway irrigation was used to wet the soil to a depth of 0.5 inch, immediately after application. Nymph counts were made on 21 Jul (20 DAT) by using soapy water flushes to sample three 1 m2 areas/plot and recording the number of nymphs recovered. Damage evaluations were made on 27 Jul (26 DAT) and again on 11 Aug (41 DAT) by taking three grid damage ratings (0-9) plot. Actual means are reported in the table. All data were transformed Vx + 0.5 prior to analysis.