CONTROL OF SAP BEETLES IN LARGE PLOTS OF STRAWBERRY WITH BRIGADE AND RIMON, 2009

The efficacy of bifenthrin (Brigade 10% WSB), novaluron (Rimon 0.83EC), and their combination to control sap beetles in strawberry was evaluated at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), Wimauma, Fla., in Mar-Apr, 2009. This experiment was performed in 1/3 acre plots measuring 48 ft. X 300 ft., and consisted of 12 adjacent 300 ft. long beds. ‘Strawberry Festival’ transplants were set in mid Oct 2008 in plastic mulched beds, spaced on 4 ft. centers, 13 inches high and 27 inches wide. Plants were spaced in two rows per bed, 12 inches apart, at 15 inches within rows. Overhead irrigation was applied for the first 2 wks to aid in establishment. Drip irrigation was used for the remainder of the experiment. The entire 5 acre study area was maintained according to standard cultural practices and harvested, with labor supplied by a cooperating grower, according to industry standards. The final harvest occurred on 12 Mar. Treatments and a nontreated check were replicated four times in a RCB design. Treatments were applied by a tractor drawn sprayer calibrated to deliver 100 gpa. All treatments were applied on 13 & 30 Mar and 10 Apr. Pretreatment samples were taken on 12 Mar and sampling continued once per wk concluding on 15 Apr. Sap beetles were sampled by inspecting the plants and surrounding plastic in a central portion of each plot for 5 min, then recording observations. Data were recorded as adults of L. insularis or H. luteolus, or as nitidulid larvae, without distinction of species, observed within a 5 min session per plot. Data were transformed using √(x+0.5) prior to ANOVA and means were separated by Fisher’s Protected LSD (P≤0.05) test. Non-transformed means are reported.