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Squash vine borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) management in pumpkin in the mid‐Atlantic
Author(s) -
Brust Gerald E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1439-0418
pISSN - 0931-2048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2009.01485.x
Subject(s) - biology , squash , vine , integrated pest management , lepidoptera genitalia , pest analysis , pheromone trap , pest control , horticulture , economic threshold , toxicology , agronomy , botany
Squash vine borer (SQVB) is becoming a more significant pest of pumpkins in the mid‐Atlantic region, because the pest’s oviposition occurs over a 4‐ to 6‐week period, insecticides are commonly applied over this entire time. This can lead to unnecessary applications that are not well timed with the activity of the moth. This study compared five treatments: (i) weekly insecticide applications, (ii) applications based on insect thresholds from pheromone trap counts, (iii) applications based on thresholds from observations of adults, (iv) combination of treatments two and three and (v) control (no insecticide). Studies were conducted over a 2‐year period at two locations. Using only observations of SQVB adults or pheromone traps to determine when to treat pumpkins resulted in significantly more damage and yield loss compared to spraying weekly. Adults were difficult to monitor as the season progressed and were not observed in the field even though egg counts of SQVB were usually greatest at mid‐season. Few adult SQVB were captured in pheromone traps until 4 weeks into the season even though SQVB were active in the field. Combining the two management strategies resulted in a 50% reduction in insecticide applications and yields that were equal to the weekly spray treatment.