Peppers (Capsicum spp.) are an important crop in the USA, with about 32,000 ha cultivated in 2007, which resulted in $588 million in farm revenue. The pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the most troublesome insect pest of peppers in the southern United States. It is therefore urgent to find different vulnerabilities of pepper cultivars, fruit and plants parts, fruit colors and sizes, and timing to infestation by A. eugenii. Also relevant is testing whether fruit length and infestation state affect fruit numbers, weights, and proportions of fruit that are infested. Counts of A. eugenii adults and marks from oviposition and feeding suggested that C. chinense Jacquin “Habanero” was least susceptible, and C. annuum L. cultivars “SY” and “SR” were most susceptible. Comparison of plant parts and fruit sizes revealed that A. eugenii preferred the peduncle, calyx, and top of pepper fruits over the middle, bottom, leaves, or remainder of flowers. Anthonomus eugenii does not discriminate between green or yellow fruit color nor vary diurnally in numbers. Based on adult counts, medium to extra-large fruits (≥1.5 cm long) attracted more weevils than small fruits (<1.5 cm). However based on proportions of fruit numbers or fruit weights that were infested, there were no differences between large and small fruits. Choice of pepper cultivar can thus be an important part of an IPM cultural control program designed to combat A. eugenii by reduced susceptibility or by synchronous fruit drop of infested fruits. Our results are potentially helpful in developing scouting programs including paying particular attention to the preferred locations of adults and their sites of feeding and oviposition on the fruit. The results also suggested the potential value of spraying when the fruits are still immature to prevent and control infestation.

The chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a cryptic species complex of at least 9 distinct species, 2 (South Asia 1 and East Asia 1) of which exist in the USA. To integrate chemical insecticides and mycoinsecticides into the preventive and curative tactics used for S. dorsalis, we evaluated 10 older and newer chemical insecticides and 3 mycoinsecticides against S. dorsalis South Asia 1, a dominant member of the species complex in the USA. An insecticide was considered effective when it induced greater than 70% mortality of larvae or adults. The older insecticides (acetamiprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam [foliar application], and imidacloprid [drench application]) were found to be efficacious in reducing S. dorsalis populations in both curative and preventive situations (≥7 d after treatment). Among insecticides with newer chemistries, foliar application of spinetoram, cyantraniliprole, tolfenpyrad, and formulations of chlorantraniliprole + thiamethoxam were effec... Resumen El thrips del chile, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), es un complejo de especies crípticas de por lo menos 9 especies distintas, 2 de las cuales (Asia del Sur 1 y Asia Oriental 1) existen en los Estados Unidos. Para integrar insecticidas químicos y micoinsecticidas en las tácticas preventivas y curativas utilizadas para S. dorsalis, se evaluaron 10 insecticidas químicos conocidos y nuevos y 3 micoinsecticidas contra S. dorsalis (Asia del Sur 1), un tipo dominante del complejo de especies en los Estados Unidos. Se consideró un insecticida eficaz cuando indujo una mortalidad superior al 70% de larvas o adultos. Se encontró que los insecticidas conocidos (acetamiprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam [aplicación foliar] e imidacloprid [aplicación remojada]) fueron eficaces para reducir las poblaciones de S. dorsalis en situaciones curativas y preventivas (≥7 dias después del tratamiento). Entre los insecticidas con nuevas sustancias químicas, la aplicación foliar de espinetoram, ciantr...

One of the most troublesome pests of snap beans is the American serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Growers commonly use abamectin, spinosad, and cyromazine to manage L. trifolii populations; however, the biological insecticide azadirachtin and the fungus Isaria fumosorosea Wize offer promising alternatives. We tested the effectiveness of these five insecticides for controlling L. trifolii under field conditions in southern Florida. Abamectin and spinosad were generally the most effective for reducing L. trifolii mines, larvae, and/or pupae. Cyromazine and azadirachtin were less effective than abamectin or spinosad, although better than I. fumosorosea or the untreated control. Isaria fumosorosea was the least promising treatment; however, it still performed better than the control in reducing L. trifolii mines, larvae, and/or pupae. As pesticide effectiveness increased, differences in numbers of mines, larvae, and pupae appeared to be reduced among the 5 dat... Resumen Un de los peores plagas de habichuelas es el minador serpentino Americano, Liriomyza trifolii Burgess (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Frecuentemente, los productores utilizan abamectina, spinosad, y ciromazina para el control de L. trifolii. Sin embargo, azadiractina, una insecticida biológica, y el hongo, Isaria fumosorosea (Wize) AHS Br. Y G. Sm., pueden ofrecer alternativas eficaces. Pusimos a la prueba el rendimiento de todas estas insecticidas para el control de L. trifolii en el campo en el sur de Florida. Abamectina y spinosad fueron generalmente los más eficaces para la reducción de las minas, larvas, y/o pupas. Ciromazina y azadiractina aparecieron menos eficaz que abamectina o spinosad, pero más eficaz que I. fumosorosea o el control no tratado. Isaria fumosorosea fue el tratamiento menos eficaz, aunque más eficaz del control para la reducción de las minas, larvas, y/o pupas. Como la eficacia de pesticidas aumentó, las diferencias en los números de las minas, larvas, y pupas disminuyieron entre ...

Melon thrips, Thrips palmi Karny (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a serious pest of vegetable, ornamental, and fruit crops. As a potential component of an integrated pest management (IPM) program, different plastic mulches including white-on-black, black-on-white, black-on-black, two metalized ultraviolet (UV)-reflective mulches, and a no mulch control were evaluated for managing T. palmi on six field-grown vegetable crops (eggplant, cucumber, squash, snap bean, Jalapeno pepper, and tomato) during the Fall of 2015 and 2016. Metalized reflective mulch significantly reduced the number of T. palmi in all vegetable crops compared with the other treatments. The highest numbers of T. palmi were observed on the white-on-black mulch and control treatments. The numbers of adults and larvae were highest on eggplant followed by cucumber, snap bean, squash, and Jalapeno pepper. The lowest numbers of T. palmi were observed on tomato plants. This study indicated that growing vegetable crops on metalized mulch is an effective method of reducing T. palmi populations in vegetable crops and should be considered in IPM programs for this insect species.