Dorman, Seth Joseph2021-11-032021-11-032020-05-11vt_gsexam:24999http://hdl.handle.net/10919/106496The tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), has been a devastating insect pest in cotton agroecosystems in mid-southern cotton for several decades. Similar to related Heteropteran insect pests, L. lineolaris uses piercing-sucking mouthparts to penetrate harvestable fruiting structures on the cotton plant (i.e., squares, flowers, small bolls) leading to significant reductions in lint yield when infestations are above economic injury levels. Economically damaging infestations of L. lineolaris have occurred in Virginia and North Carolina cotton since 2013. In response, cotton area sprayed with broad-spectrum insecticides for L. lineolaris has increased in these states. As such, this dissertation research sought to answer a variety of questions to address this issue including 1) mapping the spatiotemporal abundance of L. lineolaris across Virginia as well as creating models to predict landscape and climate factors increasing infestation risk, 2) using a systems approach to provide growers with cost-effective and sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) solutions including economic spray thresholds, 3) investigating the incidence and transmission of fungal pathogens by L. lineolaris increasing Fusarium hardlock disease, further impacting yield loss at harvest, and 4) conducting insecticide resistance monitoring of L. lineolaris across the Southeast including biochemical lab assays to determine possible mechanisms of insecticide resistance. These findings will help form compressive IPM and insect resistant management (IRM) plans to equip southeastern cotton growers with practical management tools as well as useful information on "high-risk" areas to invest management resources, increasing economic returns while minimizing environmental impacts of over-spraying foliar insecticides.ETDIn Copyrighttarnished plant bugGossypium hirsutumrisk discriptionFusarium hardlockinsecticide resistanceDissertation