Control of Apache Cicada on Asparagus, 1991

Five insecticide treatments were applied the evening of 3 Jul to 5 yr old asparagus with 4-5 ft of fern located east of San Luis, AZ, farmed by Signal Farming. Applications were made with a CO2 powered backpack sprayer calibrated to deliver 10.4 gal/acre with 4 T-Jet 8001 nozzles. Plots were 50 ft long × 2 rows (10 ft) wide and treatments were replicated 4 times in a randomized complete block design. Four rows of asparagus separated each treatment block. Plants were heavily infested with cicadas which had initiated seasonal oviposition 5 d prior to treatment. Plots were evaluated on 5 Jul. Live cicadas were counted by flushing from foliage from the entire plot by one person slowly walking between the two treated rows and disturbing the cicadas, with one person on the outside of each treated row trailing the flusher and counting cicadas as they flew in front of them. Dead cicadas were counted in plots after flushing live cicadas.