Western tarnished plant bug management in California field crops - insecticide efficacy in cotton and dry beans

D Larry Godfrey¹, W.M Canevari ², S.D Wright³, T.L Pierce⁴, and R.R Lewis¹

¹Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of California, Davis, CA USA

²Univ. of California Cooperative Extension, San Joaquin County, Stockton, CA USA

³Univ. of California Cooperative Extension, Tulare County, Tulare, CA USA

⁴Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of California Shafter Research and Extension Center, Shafter, CA USA

Correspondence: ldgodfrey@ucdavis.edu

The western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus (Knight) (Heteroptera: Miridae), is a significant pest on several field crops in California. Cotton, both Pima and Acala species, and dry beans, including black-eyed cowpeas, limas, and common beans, can be severely affected. The plant bugs reduce crop yields in cotton and beans as well as impacting crop quality in beans. Biological and cultural methods aid in management of the Lygus bugs in field crops, but insecticides are a primary means used to minimize damage. Selected registered and experimental insecticides were compared in terms of efficacy on L. hesperus, effects on populations of beneficials, potential to flare secondary arthropod pests, and ability to protect cotton and bean yield and quality in field studies in 2004–2006. A goal was to evaluate the “fit” of the experimental products metaflumizone, flonicamid, and novaluron under California conditions. Among the registered materials, the pyrethroids provided excellent Lygus bug control with the organophosphate products giving shortterm control. The pyrethroid insecticides have the drawback of reducing populations of natural enemies and potentially flaring levels of spider mites and aphids.

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