Comparing Prophylactic Versus Threshold-Based Insecticide Programs for Striped Cucumber Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Management in Watermelon.

ABSTRACT: In cucurbit crops such as watermelon, implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) is important due to the high reliance on bees for fruit set, along with mounting evidence of the risks of insecticide use associated with pollinator health. Yet, IPM adoption, on-farm pesticide use behaviors, their costs, and impacts on the primary insect pest (striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma vittatum F.) are poorly known in one of the key watermelon-growing regions, the Midwestern United States. To better understand how to implement IPM into watermelon production, we assessed pest management practices on commercial watermelon farms using 30 field sites in Indiana and Illinois over 2 yr in 2017 and 2018. Across all sampling dates, beetles never crossed the economic threshold of five beetles/plant at

SUBMITTER: Ternest JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7136195 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature