Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #340101
Research Project: New Tools for Managing Key Pests of Pecan and Peach

Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research

Title: Insecticide assays against the brown stink bug feeding on pecan

Author
item Cottrell, Ted
item REE, WILLIAM - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Pecan Grower
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/13/2017
Publication Date: 2/23/2017
Citation: Cottrell, T.E., Ree, W. 2017. Insecticide assays against the brown stink bug feeding on pecan. Pecan Grower. 28(1):28-48.

Interpretive Summary: The brown stink bug is a pest of pecan and is managed using insecticides but the efficacy of these products against the brown stink bug attacking pecan generally is not well documented. We assayed various insecticide products applied to pecan to test their effect on the brown stink bug. Insecticides were applied to pecan nut clusters in orchards in Texas and Georgia. Tree terminals with treated nuts were cut from the tree and taken to the laboratory 1, 4 and 7, days after treatment to determine residual insecticide activity. Treated nuts were placed singly in cups and a brown stink bug was put in each cup. Treatment effects on the brown stink bug were recorded at 24, 48 and 72 hours. It was found that insecticide products containing the active ingredient bifenthrin provided better control of the brown stink bug. Residual activity against the brown stink bug was best with products containing bifenthrin than any other insecticide tested, including chlorpyrifos. Although the label of some insecticide products may target certain stink bug species, most of these products performed poorly against the brown stink bug. Control of this damaging pest on pecan is best achieved with products containing bifenthrin.

Technical Abstract: The brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an economic pest of pecan, Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh) K. Koch (Juglandaceae), and other agronomic crops across the southeastern U.S. Management of this pest is mainly via insecticides. Many commercial products indicate one or more stink bug species (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) as target pests on the label but the efficacy of these products against E. servus attacking pecan is not well documented. Thus, we assayed various insecticide products when applied to pecan for their efficacy against E. servus. Products were used, within the labelled rate range, to pecan nut clusters in orchards in Texas and Georgia. Tree terminals with treated nuts were cut from the tree and taken to the laboratory 1, 4 and 7, days after treatment. Treated nuts were placed individually in cups and adult E. servus put into the cups. Treatment effects on E. servus were recorded at 24, 48 and 72 hours. Insecticide products containing the active ingredient bifenthrin resulted in higher control of the brown stink bug. Residual activity against E. servus was best with products containing bifenthrin than other insecticides tested including the organophosphate chlorpyrifos. Even though the label of some insecticide products specifically targeted certain stink bug species, most of these products performed poorly against the brown stink bug. Overall, the brown stink bug is notoriously harder to control than the co-occurring green (Chinavia hilaris [Say]) and southern green (Nezara viridula [L.]) stink bugs. Control of this damaging pest on pecan is best achieved with products containing bifenthrin.