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Submitted to: Psyche
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2011 Publication Date: 3/1/2012 Citation: Tillman, P.G., Cottrell, T.E. 2012. Case Study: Trap crop with pheromone traps for suppressing Euschistus servus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in cotton.. Psyche. doi:10.1155/2012/401703. Interpretive Summary: Producers in the southeast face significant losses from brown stink bugs, especially in cotton. Thus, a full-scale field experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of sorghum with brown stink bug capture traps to suppress brown stink bugs in cotton in farmscapes where this crop is associated with corn or peanut. Both sorghum with and without brown stink bug capture traps effectively suppressed this pest in these farmscapes. Incorporation of the capture traps in trap crops, though, can provide additional benefits including: 1) killing many brown stink bug adults and thus possibly decreasing the local population over time, 2) killing many brown stink bug females likely decreasing development of the pest in the trap crop, 3) reducing the dispersal of brown stink bugs from the trap crop into cotton, and 4) apparently attracting more dispersing brown stink bug adults into a trap crop during a period of time when preferred food is not prevalent in the landscape. Technical Abstract: The brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), disperses from corn and peanut into cotton. Therefore, a 2-yr on-farm experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a grain sorghum trap crop with or without capture traps baited with Euschistus spp. pheromone to suppress this pest in cotton in farmscapes where this crop is associated with corn or peanut. In 2004, density of E. servus adults was higher in control cotton fields compared to cotton fields with sorghum trap crops with or without pheromone capture traps during the period of time when stink bugs were dispersing into cotton fields. Similarly, in 2006, density of E. servus adults was higher in control cotton fields compared to cotton fields with sorghum trap crops with pheromone capture traps when stink bugs were entering cotton fields. Thus, both trap cropping systems effectively suppressed this pest in these farmscapes. Incorporation of pheromone capture traps in trap crops, though, can provide additional benefits including: 1) killing many E. servus adults in a trap crop possibly decreasing the local population over time and reducing the overwintering population, 2) killing many E. servus females in a trap crop likely decreasing nymphal development of E. servus in the trap crop, 3) reducing the dispersal of E. servus from the trap crop into cotton, and 4) apparently attracting more dispersing E. servus adults into a trap crop during a period of time when preferred food is not prevalent in the landscape. |
