Insect Management Tools

Doug Johnson and Ric BessinExtension EntomologistsUniversity of Kentucky

Princeton and Lexington

Before you do anything else

Make sure the pest is correctly identified!!

The PAMS Approach

• Prevention,• Avoidance,• Monitoring,• Suppression

IPM

Prevention

• Keep the pest out of the field!– Legislative; control movement of

plant material and soil– Cultural; use pest free seed /

transplants– Management; prevent weeds from

producing seed – Mechanical; mow European corn

borer staging sites in spring.

Avoidance

• Crop Rotation

• Planting Date

• Uniform Planting

• Maturity groups

• Nutrient Management

• Timely Harvest

• Avoidance of Loss of Value

Monitoring

• Crop Scouting

• Damage Assessment

• Trapping

• Modeling

Suppression

• Biological Control• Host Plant Resistance

• Mechanical• Chemical

Types of Tools• Cultural

– Host plant resistance - Early Harvest– Crop rotation– Planting dates

• Biological– Conservation– Augmentation

• Pesticidal– Sprays– Plant incorporated pesticides (PIP’s)– Seed treatments

Types of Tools

• Monitoring tools– Pheromone traps– Bait traps

• Predictive– Degree day models and

forecasting

• Decision making tools– Thresholds

Hessian Fly

Antibiosis is the primaryAntibiosis is the primary mechanism of resistancemechanism of resistance

Host Plant Resistance

• Deployment of Resistance will exert selection pressure on the pest population.– Results in multiple biotypes

(Hessian fly), “Races” (Nematodes) “strains”

• Shifts in Population

3rd year corn, Henderson Co. 2007

Crop Rotation

3rd year corn, Henderson Co. 2007

The affect of planting date on aphid populations in Kentucky

grown wheat

The affect of planting date on aphid populations in Kentucky

grown wheat

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

FirstSecondThird

Weeks Post 1st Planting Princeton, KY 1986

Aphids per 3 foot of row

The affect of planting date on exposure of wheat to aphid

populations

The affect of planting date on exposure of wheat to aphid

populations

050

100

150200250300350

400450500

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

FirstSecondThird

Weeks post 1st planting Princeton, KY 1986

Cumulative aphid days

Planting Dates and Corn Borers6-Year Average

Planting Date Non-Bt Tunneling

(in)

Yield Diff. (bu)

Yield, non-Bt(bu)

Early – Mid April4/5 – 4/13

3.5 3.3 193.8

Late April4/17 – 4/30

4.5 2.3 203.2

Early –Mid May5/6 – 5/13

4.6 6.6 184.2

Late May5/21 – 5/31

5.7 9.3 160.6

Early – Mid June6/5 - 6/14

6.5 20.7 109.2

Early Harvest(avoiding harvest losses)

• Dectes stem borer• Southwestern corn borer

Biological Control

• Conservation– If you don’t spray when you don’t

need to then you practice this! e.g. preservation of lady beetles, syrphid flies, parasitoids.

• Augmentation• Importation (Classical)

– Asian lady beetle

Natural Control

Insect DiseasesInsect DiseasesInsect DiseasesInsect Diseases

MONSANTO, DOW AGREEMENT PAVES THE WAY FOR INDUSTRY’S FIRST-EVER, MONSANTO, DOW AGREEMENT PAVES THE WAY FOR INDUSTRY’S FIRST-EVER, EIGHT-GENE STACKED OFFERING IN CORNEIGHT-GENE STACKED OFFERING IN CORN  Stacked product combines Dow AgroSciences’ and Monsanto’s insect-protection and Stacked product combines Dow AgroSciences’ and Monsanto’s insect-protection and weed control trait technologies; product set to deliver greater performance, value and weed control trait technologies; product set to deliver greater performance, value and options for farmersoptions for farmers

INDIANAPOLIS and ST. LOUIS (Sept. 14, 2007) – Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and Dow INDIANAPOLIS and ST. LOUIS (Sept. 14, 2007) – Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), have AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), have reached a cross-licensing agreement aimed at launching SmartStax™, the industry’s reached a cross-licensing agreement aimed at launching SmartStax™, the industry’s first-ever eight-gene stacked combination in corn. The agreement is expected to create a first-ever eight-gene stacked combination in corn. The agreement is expected to create a new competitive standard for stacked-trait offerings and present an expanded growth new competitive standard for stacked-trait offerings and present an expanded growth opportunity for both companies’ seed brands and traits businesses by the end of the opportunity for both companies’ seed brands and traits businesses by the end of the decade.decade.

Plant Incorporated Pesticides

Bt’s for Corn PestsYieldGard Corn Borer (Cry1Ab)

YieldGard Rootworm (Cry3Bb1)

YieldGard Plus (Cry1Ab+Cry3Bb1)

Herculex (Cry1F)

Herculex RW (Cry34Ab1+Cry35Ab1)

Herculex Xtra (Cry1F+Cry34Ab1+Cry35Ab1)

Agrisure CB (Cry1Ab)

Agrisure RW (mCry3A)

Agrisure CB/RW (Cry1AB+mCry3A)

YieldGard VT RW (Cry3Bb1)

YieldGard VT Triple (Cry1Ab + Cry3Bb1)

Insects Controlled by Bt Corn

ECB SWCB BCW FAW CRW

YieldGard CB ++ ++ - + -

YieldGard RW - - - - ++

YieldGard Plus ++ ++ - + ++

Herculex ++ ++ ++ ++ -

Herculex RW - - - - ++

Herculex Xtra ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Agrisure CB ++ ++ - + -

Agrisure RW - - - - ++Agrisure CB/RW ++ ++ - + ++

DeKalb 63-74,YieldGard Plus, DeKalb 63-74,YieldGard Plus, July 26, 2007: Mike Gray, Univ July 26, 2007: Mike Gray, Univ of ILof IL

HxXTRA HxXTRA MycogenMycogen 2T787, Urbana, IL, July 9, 2T787, Urbana, IL, July 9, 2007: Mike Gray, Univ. of IL2007: Mike Gray, Univ. of IL

Resistance Management

• High-dose refuge strategy– Need 500:1 susceptible to resistant

ratio

• No more than 80% Bt corn– Refuge within ½ mile for CB Bt’s– Refuge immediately adjacent for RW

and CB/RW Bt lines

Summary of European Corn Borer Fall Surveys,

University of Illinois Extension1943-2007

0.8

1.4 1.

50.

91.

41.

4

0.6

0.4 0.

51.

31.

8

1.5

0.7 0.

80.

81.

20.

61 1 1

0.6

1.2

0.6

2.2

1.7

0.9

1.4

0.3

1.3

0.4

0.7

0.4

1.7

2.8

11.

61

0.26

0.53

0.76

1.04

2.07

1.55

0.52

3.48

1.24

3.3

0.27

1.1

0.6

1.3 1.36

0.29 0.34

0.91 0.95

0.52

0.16 0.

340.

330.

13

4.2

2.8

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1943

1947

1951

1955

1959

1963

1967

1971

1975

1979

1983

1987

1991

1995

1999

2003

2007

Year

Avg

. no.

larv

ae/p

lant

Kevin Steffey: Univ of IL

Seed Treatments

Seed Treatments

– ThiamethoxamCruiser Extreme Pak (0.25 mg/kernel)

Cruiser Extreme Pak CRW (1.25 mg/kernel)

– ClothianidinPoncho 250 (0.25 mg/kernel)

Poncho 1250 (1.25 mg/kernel)

Insects Controlled

WW WG FB SCM BCW

CRW

Gaucho ++ ++ + ++ - -Prescribe ++ ++ ++ ++ - +Cruiser Ex Pak ++ ++ ++ ++ + -Cruiser EP CRW

++ ++ ++ ++ + ++

Poncho 250 ++ ++ ++ ++ + -Poncho 1250 ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Resistance Management

• Resistance likely to play a larger role in pest management in coming years.

• Many of the most commonly used pesticide belong to only two chemical groups, pyrethroids and neonicotinyls.

Two most common groups

• Pyrethroids– Ambush– Asana– Baythroid– Capture– Danitol– Decis– Mustang Max– Pounce– Proaxis– Renounce– Warrior

• Neonicotinoids– Actara– Admire– Assail– Calypso– Clutch– Cruiser– Gaucho– Platinum– Poncho– Prescribe– Provado– Venom

Differing susceptibility

to

insecticides in an insect population

Favored by repeated

applications in a season

Insect with more

generations per year adapt more quickly

Is Resistance Appearing?

• Corn earworm (aka tomato fruitworm, soybean podworm, cotton bollworm) and pyrethroids?

• Whiteflies – Bemisia tabaci Q biotype found in Kentucky.

Types of Resistance

• Behavioral resistance

• Penetration resistance

• Metabolic resistance **

• Alter target-site resistance *

How to Prevent Resistance

• Do not overuse single control tactics

• Mix cultural, biological and chemical tactics

• Use scouting and thresholds

Insecticide Resistance: Rule 1

• Do not treat successive generations of a pest with chemicals of the same mode of action (use sequences of products)– Do not tank mix products with same

MOA– Know the chemical class / Mode of

action (IRAC codes!!)– Know the life cycle of the pest

Resistance Management Tactics

• Monitor Pests• Use Economic

Thresholds• Use IPM• Time sprays

correctly• Use label rates• Get proper

coverage

• Alternate chemical classes

• Use refuges to preserve susceptible genes

• Protect beneficial arthropods

Types of Tools

• Monitoring tools– Pheromone traps– Bait traps

• Predictive– Degree day models and

forecasting

• Decision making tools– Thresholds

Texas cone trapTexas cone trap

UK-IPM:

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/IPMPrinceton/Counts/2006trapsfp.htm

UK-IPM Pheromone Baited Traps

UK-IPM Pheromone Baited Traps

Abiotic Factors Affecting Insect Growth

• TEMPERATURE– base temperature - minimum

temperature for activity and growth– degree days((max T + min T)/2) - base temperature– biofix– calendar date

• Rainfall, humidity

Affects of Temperature

The speed of insect development increases as temperature increases until they burn themselves up!

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

Growth Rate

Developing a Day Degree Model

BioFix – A place to start the model

Daily Max / Min Temperature Summation above the base temperature

((max T + min T)/2) - base temperature

1 Day Degree is equal to one day, at one degree above the base temperature.

Economic Thresholds vs Economic Injury level

ET

EIL

Time or Plant Stage etc.

Number Of

Pests-Or-

DamageLevel

Economic Thresholdsby Plant StageEconomic Thresholdsby Plant Stage

ET

Plant Stages

Defoliation

Seedling

Vegetative

Reproductive

Maturity