INSECTICIDE EFFICACY EVALUATION OF EUROPEAN CORN BORER CONTROL IN BELL PEPPER, 2004

The objective of this research trial was to evaluate the efficacy of 10 insecticides for ECB control in bell peppers. The ECB is the key insect pest of Ohio bell peppers. Chemical management of this pest is the most commonly used tactic by farmers. Orthene is the preferred insecticide against ECB, but its use is limited to a maximum of two applications per season. It is thus necessary to investigate materials that might offer an efficacy comparable to that of Orthene. This study was conducted in 2004, at the North Central Research Station of the Ohio State University, Fremont, Ohio. Insecticide performance against ECB was tested in a RCB design containing 11 treatments and four replications. Peppers were seeded in 200-cell trays in a greenhouse on 5 Apr and transplanted in the field on 4 Jun. Each plot was a single row of pepper plants 30 ft long with a guard row on each side. A tractor–drawn hydraulic boom sprayer pressurized by CO2 with 2.5 gal stainless steel canisters tanks was used to apply the insecticides at approximately 7-day intervals, starting when the second generation of ECB moths was detected by a blacklight trap, and ending when moth flight ceased. In some weeks, weather conditions delayed chemical applications. Actual dates of insecticide applications were: 12 Jul, 6 , 13, 23, and 31 Aug, and 7 and 14 Sep. Dimilin was not included in the 23 Aug application because of logistics problems; instead, it was applied on 27 Aug. The applications were made at a speed of 3 mph, 55 psi, nozzle TJ-6