Browsing by Author "Reisig, Dominic D."

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    Behavior of and Crop Injury Induced by Native and Exotic Stink Bugs in Mid-Atlantic Soybean
    Owens, David Robert (Virginia Tech, 2012-04-23)
    Cage studies were performed to determine if the current thresholds for stink bugs in soybean (one bug per 0.3 row m) need to be adjusted based on current soybean production practices and species present. Several soybean development stages were infested by two native stink bug species for three weeks using small cages in a field of double crop soybean at sites in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware during 2007-2009. Large field cages were infested by an introduced species for two weeks in 2010-2011. Results showed that Euschistus servus Say and Acrosternum hilare Say adults or nymphs did not cause different levels of injury to soybean seed quality or effects on yield. Both A. hilare and the introduced Halyomorpha halys Stål injured soybean seed in a similar fashion at threshold-level densities. Full flowering R2 stage soybean were least affected by stink bug feeding, and full pod and beginning seed R4-R5 stage soybean were slightly more sensitive to injury than R6 although not at the Maryland 2011 site. Several sites had increased seed injury and decreased yield at threshold density populations. Finally, visual observations of stink bug vertical distribution inside soybean canopies were taken several times per day and compared with ambient and within-canopy temperature and relative humidity. Results indicated that these conditions did not influence the percentage of stink bugs below the top 38 cm sweep net intercept zone. In both years of observations, between 15 and 20% of stink bugs were observed below the 38 cm sweep net zone.
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    Biology and Management of Hessian Fly in the Southeast
    Flanders, Kathy L.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Buntin, G. David; Winslow, Matthew; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Johnson, Douglas W. (Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 2013-02-27)
    Describes life cycle of Mayetiola destructor and its damage to wheat and other grain crops, and includes management strategies.
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    Biology, Pest Status, Microbiome and Control of Kudzu Bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Plataspidae): A New Invasive Pest in the U.S.
    Dhammi, Anirudh; van Krestchmar, Jaap B.; Ponnusamy, Loganathan; Bacheler, Jack S.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Del Pozo-Valdivia, Alejandro I.; Roe, R. Michael (MDPI, 2016-09-16)
    Soybean is an important food crop, and insect integrated pest management (IPM) is critical to the sustainability of this production system. In recent years, the introduction into the United States of the kudzu bug currently identified as Megacopta cribraria (F.), poses a threat to soybean production. The kudzu bug was first discovered in the state of Georgia, U.S. in 2009 and since then has spread to most of the southeastern states. Because it was not found in the North American subcontinent before this time, much of our knowledge of this insect comes from research done in its native habitat. However, since the U.S. introduction, studies have been undertaken to improve our understanding of the kudzu bug basic biology, microbiome, migration patterns, host selection and management in its expanding new range. Researchers are not only looking at developing IPM strategies for the kudzu bug in soybean, but also at its unique relationship with symbiotic bacteria. Adult females deposit bacterial packets with their eggs, and the neonates feed on these packets to acquire the bacteria, Candidatus Ishikawaella capsulata. The kudzu bug should be an informative model to study the co-evolution of insect function and behavior with that of a single bacteria species. We review kudzu bug trapping and survey methods, the development of bioassays for insecticide susceptibility, insecticide efficacy, host preferences, impact of the pest on urban environments, population expansion, and the occurrence of natural enemies. The identity of the kudzu bug in the U.S. is not clear. We propose that the kudzu bug currently accepted as M. cribraria in the U.S. is actually Megacopta punctatissima, with more work needed to confirm this hypothesis.
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    Evaluating invasion risk and population dynamics of the brown marmorated stink bug across the contiguous United States
    Illán, Javier Gutierrez; Zhu, Gengping; Walgenbach, James F.; Acebes-Doria, Angel; Agnello, Arthur M.; Alston, Diane G.; Andrews, Heather; Beers, Elisabeth H.; Bergh, J. Christopher; Bessin, Ricardo T.; Blaauw, Brett R.; Buntin, G. David; Burkness, Erik C.; Cullum, John P.; Daane, Kent M.; Fann, Lauren E.; Fisher, Joanna; Girod, Pierre; Gut, Larry J.; Hamilton, George C.; Hepler, James R.; Hilton, Richard; Hoelmer, Kim A.; Hutchison, William D.; Jentsch, Peter J.; Joseph, Shimat V.; Kennedy, George G.; Krawczyk, Grzegorz; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Lee, Jana C.; Leskey, Tracy C.; Marshal, Adrian T.; Milnes, Joshua M.; Nielsen, Anne L.; Patel, Dilani K.; Peterson, Hillary D.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Rijal, Jhalendra P.; Sial, Ashfaq A.; Spears, Lori R.; Stahl, Judith M.; Tatman, Kathy M.; Taylor, Sally V.; Tillman, Glynn; Toews, Michael D.; Villanueva, Raul T.; Welty, Celeste; Wiman, Nik G.; Wilson, Julianna K.; Zalom, Frank G.; Crowder, David W. (Wiley, 2022-11-01)
    BACKGROUND: Invasive species threaten the productivity and stability of natural and managed ecosystems. Predicting the spread of invaders, which can aid in early mitigation efforts, is a major challenge, especially in the face of climate change. While ecological niche models are effective tools to assess habitat suitability for invaders, such models have rarely been created for invasive pest species with rapidly expanding ranges. Here, we leveraged a national monitoring effort from 543 sites over 3 years to assess factors mediating the occurrence and abundance of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys), an invasive insect pest that has readily established throughout much of the United States. RESULTS: We used maximum entropy models to estimate the suitable habitat of BMSB under several climate scenarios, and generalized boosted models to assess environmental factors that regulated BMSB abundance. Our models captured BMSB distribution and abundance with high accuracy, and predicted a 70% increase in suitable habitat under future climate scenarios. However, environmental factors that mediated the geographical distribution of BMSB were different from those driving abundance. While BMSB occurrence was most affected by winter precipitation and proximity to populated areas, BMSB abundance was influenced most strongly by evapotranspiration and solar photoperiod. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that linking models of establishment (occurrence) and population dynamics (abundance) offers a more effective way to forecast the spread and impact of BMSB and other invasive species than simply occurrence-based models, allowing for targeted mitigation efforts. Implications of distribution shifts under climate change are discussed. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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    Fifty Years of Cereal Leaf Beetle in the U.S.: An Update on Its Biology, Management, and Current Research
    Philips, Christopher R.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Thomason, Wade E.; Malone, Sean M. (Entomological Society of America, 2011-10-01)
    Cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus L., is an introduced insect pest of small grains first recorded in the United States in the early 1960s. Since its introduction from Europe or Asia into Michigan, cereal leaf beetle has rapidly spread and can now be found in most states. Cereal leaf beetle feeds on numerous species of grasses and is considered a major pest of oats, barley, and wheat. Although several studies have investigated cereal leaf beetle biology and population dynamics, numerous gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms that influence its spread and distribution, which makes predicting pest outbreaks difficult. Because of the difficulty in predicting when and where pest outbreaks will occur many growers in the southeast apply insecticides on a calendar basis rather than using a threshold-based integrated pest management approach. Our challenge is to develop new information and procedures that will encourage growers to reevaluate the way they are approaching spring-time insect control in wheat, and consider adoption of the integrated pest management approach. This article is a review of cereal leaf beetle biology, past and present management practices, and current research being conducted.
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    First transgenic trait for control of plant bugs and thrips in cotton
    Akbar, Waseem; Gowda, Anilkumar; Ahrens, Jeffrey E.; Stelzer, Jason W.; Brown, Robert S.; Bollman, Scott L.; Greenplate, John T.; Gore, Jeffrey; Catchot, Angus L.; Lorenz, Gus; Stewart, Scott D.; Kerns, David L.; Greene, Jeremy K.; Toews, Michael D.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Sword, Gregory A.; Ellsworth, Peter C.; Godfrey, Larry D.; Clark, Thomas L. (Wiley, 2018-12-18)
    BACKGROUND: Plant bugs (Lygus spp.) and thrips (Thrips spp.) are two of the most economically important insect pest groups impacting cotton production in the USA today, but are not controlled by current transgenic cotton varieties. Thus, seed or foliar-applied chemical insecticides are typically required to protect cotton from these pest groups. Currently, these pests are resistant to several insecticides, resulting in fewer options for economically viable management. Previous publications documented the efficacy of transgenic cotton event MON 88702 against plant bugs and thrips in limited laboratory and field studies. Here, we report results from multi-location and multi-year field studies demonstrating efficacy provided by MON 88702 against various levels of these pests. RESULTS: MON 88702 provided a significant reduction in numbers of Lygus nymphs and subsequent yield advantage. MON 88702 also had fewer thrips and minimal injury. The level of control demonstrated by this transgenic trait was significantly better compared with its non-transgenic near-isoline, DP393, receiving insecticides at current commercial rates. CONCLUSION: The level of efficacy demonstrated here suggests that MON 88702, when incorporated into existing IPM programs, could become a valuable additional tool for management of Lygus and thrips in cotton agroecosystems experiencing challenges of resistance to existing chemical control strategies. © 2018 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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    Neonicotinoid seed treatments of soybean provide negligible benefits to US farmers
    Mourtzinis, Spyridon; Krupke, Christian H.; Esker, Paul D.; Varenhorst, Adam; Arneson, Nicholas J.; Bradley, Carl A.; Byrne, Adam M.; Chilvers, Martin, I.; Giesler, Loren J.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Kandel, Yuba R.; Kazula, Maciej J.; Hunt, Catherine; Lindsey, Laura E.; Malone, Sean M.; Mueller, Daren S.; Naeve, Seth; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Ross, William J.; Rossman, Devon R.; Taylor, Sally V.; Conley, Shawn P. (Springer Nature, 2019-09-09)
    Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides worldwide and are typically deployed as seed treatments (hereafter NST) in many grain and oilseed crops, including soybeans. However, there is a surprising dearth of information regarding NST effectiveness in increasing soybean seed yield, and most published data suggest weak, or inconsistent yield benefit. The US is the key soybean-producing nation worldwide and this work includes soybean yield data from 194 randomized and replicated field studies conducted specifically to evaluate the effect of NSTs on soybean seed yield at sites within 14 states from 2006 through 2017. Here we show that across the principal soybean-growing region of the country, there are negligible and management-specific yield benefits attributed to NSTs. Across the entire region, the maximum observed yield benefits due to fungicide (FST = fungicide seed treatment) + neonicotinoid use (FST+NST) reached 0.13 Mg/ha. Across the entire region, combinations of management practices affected the effectiveness of FST+NST to increase yield but benefits were minimal ranging between 0.01 to 0.22 Mg/ha. Despite widespread use, this practice appears to have little benefit for most of soybean producers; across the entire region, a partial economic analysis further showed inconsistent evidence of a break-even cost of FST or FST+ NST. These results demonstrate that the current widespread prophylactic use of NST in the key soybean-producing areas of the US should be re-evaluated by producers and regulators alike.
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    Sampling Optimization and Crop Interface Effects on Lygus lineolaris Populations in Southeastern USA Cotton
    Dorman, Seth J.; Taylor, Sally V.; Malone, Sean; Roberts, Phillip M.; Greene, Jeremy K.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Smith, Ronald H.; Jacobson, Alana L.; Reay-Jones, Francis P. F.; Paula-Moraes, Silvana; Huseth, Anders S. (MDPI, 2022-01-13)
    Tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), is an economically damaging pest in cotton production systems across the southern United States. We systematically scouted 120 commercial cotton fields across five southeastern states during susceptible growth stages in 2019 and 2020 to investigate sampling optimization and the effect of interface crop and landscape composition on L. lineolaris abundance. Variance component analysis determined field and within-field spatial scales, compared with agricultural district and state, accounted for more variation in L. lineolaris density using sweep net and drop cloth sampling. This result highlights the importance of field-level scouting efforts. Using within-field samples, a fixed-precision sampling plan determined 8 and 23 sampling units were needed to determine L. lineolaris population estimates with 0.25 precision for sweep net (100 sweeps per unit) and drop cloth (1.5 row-m per unit) sampling, respectively. A spatial Bayesian hierarchical model was developed to determine local landscape (<0.5 km from field edges) effects on L. lineolaris in cotton. The proportion of agricultural area and double-crop wheat and soybeans were positively associated with L. lineolaris density, and fields with more contiguous cotton areas negatively predicted L. lineolaris populations. These results will improve L. lineolaris monitoring programs and treatment management decisions in southeastern USA cotton.
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    Soybean Insect Guide
    Reisig, Dominic D.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Taylor, Sally V. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2019-03-20)
    Provides brief descriptions and photos of common pests and beneficial insects found in soybean fields.
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    Soybean Insect Guide
    Reisig, Dominic D.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr. (Virginia Tech, 2014-02-07)
    This document presents brief descriptions and photos of common pests and beneficial insects found in soybean fields.
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    Standardized Field Trials in Cotton and Bioassays to Evaluate Resistance of Tobacco Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) to Insecticides in the Southern United States
    Krob, Jessica L.; Stewart, Scott D.; Brown, Sebe A.; Kerns, Dawson; Graham, Scott H.; Perkins, Clay; Huseth, Anders S.; Kennedy, George G.; Reisig, Dominic D.; Taylor, Sally V.; Towles, Tyler B.; Kerns, David L.; Thrash, Benjamin C.; Lorenz, Gus M.; Bateman, Nick R.; Cook, Don R.; Crow, Whitney D.; Gore, Jeffrey; Catchot, Angus L.; Musser, Fred R.; Catchot, Beverly (Oxford University Press, 2022-09)
    Foliar-applied insecticide treatments may be necessary to manage thrips in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under severe infestations or when at-planting insecticide seed treatments do not provide satisfactory protection. The most common foliar-applied insecticide is acephate. Field observations in Tennessee suggest that the performance of acephate has declined. Thus, the first objective was to perform leaf-dip bioassays to assess if tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in cotton production regions have evolved resistance to foliar-applied insecticides. A second objective was to assess the performance of commonly applied foliar insecticides for managing thrips in standardized field trials in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas. For both objectives, several insecticides were evaluated including acephate, dicrotophos, dimethoate, lambda-cyhalothrin, imidacloprid, and spinetoram. Field trials and bioassays were completed from 2018 to 2021. Dose-response bioassays with acephate were performed on tobacco thrips field populations and a susceptible laboratory population. Bioassay results suggest that tobacco thrips have developed resistance to acephate and other organophosphate insecticides; however, this resistance seems to be most severe in Arkansas, Tennessee, and the Delta region of Mississippi. Resistance to other classes of insecticides were perhaps even more evident in these bioassays. The performance of these insecticides in field trials was variable, with tobacco thrips only showing consistent signs of resistance to lambda-cyhalothrin. However, it is evident that many populations of tobacco thrips are resistant to multiple classes of insecticides. Further research is needed to determine heritability and resistance mechanism(s).