Nematodes Screened Against Pecan Weevil Larvae, 1986

Pecans infested with pecan weevils were collected from an insecticide free orchard at Byron, Ga., in late Sep. Nuts were held in the laboratory and weevil larvae were collected as they emerged. Top soil from this same orchard was collected and sterilized. The soil moisture content was brought to field capacity (13%). Soil was then placed in 30 cc cups and 2500 infective juveniles of Steinernema feltae All strain, Steinernema feltae Mexican strain, Heterorhabditis sp. ex citrus weevil from Orlando, Florida and one ml water as a control were pippetted on top of the soil in 100 cups each. One mature weevil larva was placed in each cup and cups were sealed with a plastic lid on 16 Oct. Weevil larvae were dissected and examined for nematodes on 13 and 20 Nov. Comparisons of weevil mortalities among treatments were made using binomial tests for equal probabilities.