Small Plot Aphicide Testing, 1988

Chrysanthemums were grown from unrooted cuttings in sand ground beds at a density of 12 plants/ft2, in 1.5- by 3.5-ft plots. Plots were maintained under a 7-d harvest schedule until a pretreatment sample indicated an adequate aphid infestation. Treatments were assigned according to a randomized complete block design, with 6 replicate plots/treatment. Foliar sprays were applied to the point of leaf wetness with a Geerpress hand pump sprayer directly after the pretreatment count and after each of the next 3 evaluations (7 day intervals). Triton AG-98 was added to each tank mixture at 0.125% by volume. Pretreatment and posttreatment evaluations consisted of counting all live aphids from a sample of 10 vegetative shoots (3 inches long) removed at random from within each replicate plot. The average temperature on the first spray date ws 60°F; average temperature on the final spray date was 68°F.