Publications by authors named "Alejandro I Del Pozo-Valdivia"
The mirid bugs Lygus hesperus (Knight) and L. elisus (van Duzee) are key pests of forage, fiber, and fruit crops. Our goals were to identify pheromone components produced by females of both species and to develop practical pheromone dispensers for use in monitoring these pests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Systena frontalis, or the red-headed flea beetle, is a damaging pest that affects various crops, particularly ornamental plants like hydrangeas, making them less marketable.
- In a study in Virginia, researchers measured the damage the beetles cause to hydrangea leaves of different ages, finding significant defoliation, especially on young leaves within 24 to 48 hours.
- The study also indicated a preference for mature leaves over young ones in choice tests that mimic natural conditions, suggesting that mature hydrangea leaves are more susceptible to beetle feeding despite young leaves being initially more damaged.
Systena frontalis (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious pest of ornamental shrubs in containerized ornamental plant nurseries in the central and eastern United States. Adult S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrnamental plant production in eastern Virginia nurseries have been greatly impacted by Systena frontalis (F.), also known as the red-headed flea beetle. With the advent of S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Helicoverpa zea, an economic pest in the south-eastern United States, has evolved practical resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry toxins in maize and cotton. Insect resistance management (IRM) programs have historically required planting of structured non-Bt maize, but because of its low adoption, the use of seed blends has been considered. To generate knowledge on target pest biology and ecology to help improve IRM strategies, nine field trials were conducted in 2019 and 2020 in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to evaluate the impact of Bt (Cry1Ab + Cry1F or Cry1Ab + Cry1F + Vip3A) and non-Bt maize plants in blended and structured refuge treatments on H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) is a serious threat to lettuce production in California’s Salinas Valley, spread by thrips.
- A study using Spatial Analysis by Distance IndicEs (SADIE) showed that INSV incidence rose quickly from about 16% to over 80% within 7 weeks, with outbreaks concentrated at field edges early in the planting season.
- Economic losses from INSV exceeded $475,000 in just two fields, and surveys revealed that over 750 fields in Monterey County were affected in 2021, highlighting the challenges of managing thrips and the virus in lettuce agriculture.
Aphids are one of the most economically important pests to California's Central Coast lettuce industry. Aphids vector the lettuce mosaic virus and are crop contaminants in the packaging of the product. Lettuce aphid, Nasonovia ribisnigri (Mosley) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is one of the predominant aphid species in lettuce, and it poses unique management challenges forming colonies inside the lettuce head.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThresholds for Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. have been understudied since the widespread adoption of Bt cotton in the United States. Our study was possible due to the widespread presence of H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), is a damaging pest of multiple crops in the southeastern United States. In addition to crops, both the weedy field borders and wooded areas of a typical farmscape in this region harbor E. servus host plants, many of which are temporally and spatially limiting in availability or nutritional suitability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMegacopta cribraria (F.), also known as the kudzu bug, is a soybean pest in the United States, and it can cause up to a 60% yield reduction if not controlled. Insecticides are commonly used to manage this pest in commercial soybean fields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoybean 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe invasive plataspid Megacopta cribraria (F.) is now distributed throughout much of the southeastern United States. While it readily feeds and develops on the invasive weed kudzu, Puereria montana (Loureiro) Merrill var.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Megacopta cribraria, an invasive pest introduced in 2009, has caused significant damage to soybean crops in the southeastern U.S., leading farmers to rely heavily on insecticides for control.
- A study conducted in 2012 and 2013 across three fields in North and South Carolina aimed to assess how planting dates and soybean maturity groups affected M. cribraria populations and yields.
- Results showed that early-planted, untreated soybeans had higher pest populations compared to late plantings, and there was a negative correlation between M. cribraria numbers and soybean yield, suggesting that early planting might expose crops to greater pest risks.
Article Synopsis
- The kudzu bug, first found in the U.S. in 2009, is now a major pest for soybean crops, particularly in the southeast, but management strategies are still being developed.
- Researchers conducted field trials from 2011 to 2013 in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to determine effective insecticide application thresholds for controlling the bug's populations.
- Findings revealed that a single insecticide application targeting nymphs at certain growth stages can prevent yield loss, often proving to be more cost-effective than multiple applications.