turf pest managementsuck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees have piercing‐sucking mouthparts,...
TRANSCRIPT
3/18/2021
Ornamental & Turfgrass Pest Management
Janet Hurley, ACE
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
School IPM Coordinator Training
Types of Insect Pests
• Sucking• Meristem feeding• Phloem feeding• Mesophyll feeding
• Chewing• Mining• Skeletonizing• Leaf feeding• Root feeding• Boring
• Gall Making
Meristem Attackers Thrips
Gall‐making insects
Meristem tissue
ThripsFEED ON GROWING TIPS OF THE PLANT
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Gall makers
• Distorted leaf, stem, or flower parts
• Insects, disease or physical damage may cause galls
• Oaks have more galls than any other plant group
Andricus laniger on live oak
Phloem FeedersAphids
Some scale insects
Mealybugs
Leafhoppers and planthoppers
Whiteflies
Phloem
Phloem feedersFeed on the phloem (sap) of plants◦ Aphids◦ Whiteflies◦ Plant bugs◦ Scales◦ Mealybugs◦ Stink bugs
Aphids
Pear‐shaped
Long legs
Tiny tails (cornicles)
Found in colonies
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HoneydewProduce a colorless, sweet, sticky fluidWill attract ants and flies Black fungus or sooty mold
Diagnosing aphidsPear‐shaped insects on leaves, stems (with or without wings)
Cast skins
Honeydew deposits
Aphid natural enemies
Syrphid flyLady beetle
Green Lacewing
Syrphid fly larva
Lady beetle larva
Lacewing larva
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Scale insectsArmored scales◦ Feed on parenchyma cells◦ No honeydew◦ Multiple generations per year
Soft scales and bark scales◦ Feed on phloem◦ Honeydew◦ (usually) one generation per year
Scale insect controlSoaps and oils
dormant vs. summer oils
systemic insecticides
sprays timed to kill crawler stage
Scale crawlers
Two insect pests of crapemyrtleCrapemyrtle aphid, Sarucallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy)◦ Native to southeast Asia (India, China, Korea, Japan)◦ Monophagous on Lagerstroemia
Crapemyrtle bark scale, Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana)◦ Native to Asia (China, Korea, Japan)◦ Polyphagous with poorly described host records,
Crapemyrtle aphid
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Black sooty mold
Xylem Feeders Some leafhoppers and sharpshooters
Spittlebugs
Xylem
LeafhoppersSuck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees
Have piercing‐sucking mouthparts, enabling them to feed on plant sap
Can transmit plant pathogens, such as viruses, phytoplasmas and bacteria.
Graphocephala versuta (Photo courtesy Sam Houston, Bugguide)
Gyponana octolineata (Photo courtesy Stephen Luk, Bugguide)
StemparenchymaBorers (beetle and moth)
Armored scale insects
Stem parenchyma
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Borers• Attack xylem and phloem tissue in tree
• Enter as larvae through weak spots in bark
• Adult forms emerge from holes chewed in bark
• One generation per year, usually
Adult borers
Borer larvae
Root feedersAphids
Beetles◦ White grubs◦ Wireworms
Flies (maggots)
Chinch bugs
Armyworms
Crickets
Cockroaches
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White grub
White grubs• Immature form of the June beetle
• Multiple species• Phyllophaga crinita – June
beetle• Cyclocephala lurida –
Southern masked chafer• Others
• Underground root feeder
• 5‐10 grubs per ft2
• One generation per year• Adult emergence in June, July
• Ideal treatment time around 4th of July (July‐early August)
Other scarab beetles
June beetle life cycle
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1st or 2nd instar is optimal treatment stage
• best time to treat around July 4
White grub controls for consumersImidacloprid (Bayer Season‐Long Grub Control™, HiYield Grub Free Zone III®)*
Chlorantraniliprole (Scotts GrubEx)
Pyrethroids not highly effective (e.g., lambda cyhalothrin,
White grub controls for professionals
Granular insecticides imidacloprid (Bayer Merit® G)* Clothianidin (Arena 50 WDG)* Thiamethoxam (Meridian™ 0.33G, Caravan G)* Chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn G) trichlorfon (Dylox® 6.2G)
Liquid insecticides imidacloprid (Merit® SC, WP) clothianidin (Arena™)* chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn® SC) trichlorfon (Dylox® 80) carbaryl (Sevin® 80 WSP) methoxyfenozide (Intrepid® 2F)
* Neonicotinoid
White grub insecticide cost comparisons• * Neonicotinoid insecticides
Product Active Cost Rate Cost / Acre
Acelepryn Chlorantraniliprole $129/25 lb 50‐100 lbs per acre $258‐$516
Arena 2.5G Clothianidin* $66/30 lbs 80‐160 lbs per acre $176
Meridian 0.33G Thiamethoxam* $86/40 lbs 60‐80 lbs per acre $129‐$172
Merit 0.5 G Imidacloprid* $39/30 lbs 60‐80 lbs per acre $78‐$104
Dylox 6.2 Trichlorfon $47/30 lbs 130 lbs per acre $204
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Neonicotinoids and pollinator
safety
Flowering weeds and neonicotinoid insecticides. Larson et al 2014. Environ. Toxicol. & Chem., Larson et al 2013. PlosOne.
• >99% reduction in neonicotinoid residues in blooms formed after mowing.
• Follow label directions and mow flowering weeds to protect beneficials including bumble bees
• Chlorantraniliprole was a safe alternative to neonicotinoids
Chinch bugs
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Chinch bug biology
• 3 to 6 generations/year
• Principal host is St Augustinegrass
• Look for yellowed, stunted dead plants, especially along pavement edges
• Damage occurs from sap‐feeding and (suspected) toxin
• Threshold 25 bugs/ft2
Photo by Casey Reynolds
Collection
Chinch bug control
• Resistant varieties have lost resistance in many areas. TAMStar reported to be latest resistant variety
• High label rates of insecticides with wetting agent
• Pyrethroids• Chlothianidin*• Thiamethoxam*• Trichlorfon
• 2nd application if necessary, in 2‐3 weeks
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Armyworms Fall armyworm • Moth
• Caterpillar stage
Fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperda
• Armyworms overwinter in south Texas and Mexico
• Larvae feed 2‐3 weeks• Risks:
• Opens up turf canopy to allow weeds to grow
• If occurs during hot summer, may allow sun damage to stolons, runners
• Mow and treat with residual insecticide
Photos from NC State Univ. D.S. Reiland, J. Castner, L.J. Buss
True armyworm, Mythimna unipuncta
• Immature stage of true armyworm moth, identified by white, diamond‐shaped dot in center of forewing.
• Larva has reticulated head capsule
• Minor pest with potential for sporadic outbreaks spreading to turf (more likely following warm winters)
• effective control with pyrethroid sprays, chlorantraniliprole, biologicals
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Sod Webworms
Tropical sod webworm
Tropical sod webworm damage
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Armyworm/webworm insecticides and cost comparisons
Product Active Cost Rate Cost / Acre
Acelepryn SC Chlorantraniliprole $1000/0.5 gal 2‐4 fl oz per acre $31‐$63
Astro Insecticide Permethrin $140/1.25 gal 17‐35 fl oz per acre $13‐$27
Talstar P bifenthrin $52/1.0 gal 8‐11 fl oz per acre $3.25‐$4.50
Conserve SC Spinosad* $150/0.25 gal 11‐52 fl oz per acresmall – large larvae
$51‐$244
Dipel Pro DF Bacillus thuringiensis* $22/ lb 1‐2 lb per acre(small larvae)
$22‐$44 Mole crickets
Three species in Texas
•Northern mole cricket (Neocurtilla hexadactyla)• minor pest
•Southern mole cricket (Scapteriscus borelli)• more predator than plant feeder
•Tawny mole cricket (Scapteriscus vicinus) • severe damage to turf. Thought to be restricted to SE corner of state: Houston east to Louisiana
Mole cricket ranges in Texas
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U shaped gap in dactyls V-shaped gap in dactyls
Distinguishing southern and tawny mole cricket If you think you’ve had mole cricket damage:
• Map out affected areas• May‐June, sample turf in mapped sites
for nymphs with soap flush• Treat infested areas May‐July
• Bifenthrin• Fipronil (topchoice)• Indoxacarb• Thiamethoxam
Soap flush: 3 Tbsp lemon scented Dawn in 3‐gal water
Surinam cockroach, Pycnoscelus surinamensis
• Adults are medium‐sized (3/4 to 1 inch long)
• Have a shiny brown to blackish body with golden‐colored forewings and markings on the abdomen.
• Prothoracic shield (covering the thorax) is shiny black, narrowly marked with yellow along the front edge
Surinam cockroach, Pycnoscelus surinamensis
• Burrowing species often found in mulch and compost piles and sometimes associated with bedding plants.
• Not a building dweller where moisture and humidity is low. Their impact on buildings is minimal and bites are unlikely. Their species causes widespread damage to regions prone to high heat and humidity including:
• Gardens• Greenhouses• Lawns
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Crustation: Crayfish/Crawfish in Turf• Areas of turf in low‐lying areas that
maintain damp soils and shallow subsurface water levels may support crayfish populations.
• Damage is not so significant to the turf, but large amounts of soil may be brought to the surface as the crayfish tunnel in the soils.
• Such large mud turrets may create mounds that can be annoying or inconvenient, especially during lawn maintenance.
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