Publications by authors named "T P Kuhar"
We describe experiments that evaluated potential sex pheromone components for 6 North American click beetle species. In field trials in Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, male beetles of 6 species were strongly attracted to geranyl butyrate (Agriotes insanus Candèze), 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate (Elater abruptus Say), 11-dodecenyl butyrate (Melanotus ignobilis Melsheimer), and limoniic acid (Gambrinus griseus [Palisot de Beauvois], G. rudis [Brown], and G.
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- Microbes and enzymes are crucial for soil and plant health, particularly in the hemp rhizosphere, but fungicides can negatively affect microorganism diversity and enzyme activity.
- Soil samples from four hemp cultivars were tested under different conditions (natural, inoculated, and fungicide-treated), revealing that fungicides dramatically altered microbiota structure by increasing some microbial phyla while decreasing others.
- Enzymatic activities related to organic matter metabolism were also significantly reduced in fungicide-treated samples across all hemp cultivars, highlighting the ecological implications of fungicide use on soil health.
The spotted lanternfly, (White) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), was first detected in the United States in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. Native to China, this phloem-feeding planthopper threatens agricultural, ornamental, nursery, and timber industries in its invaded range through quarantine restrictions on shipments, as well as impacts on plants themselves. The long-term impacts of feeding on tree species have not been well studied in North America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is an invasive and severe pest of specialty and row crops. A 2-year field study conducted in four Mid-Atlantic states in the USA characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of BMSB populations and its association with landscape elements in commercial agriculture settings. In each state, two 1 km sites included typical landscape elements (i.
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- The squash bug, a major pest of cucurbit crops in the U.S., poses challenges for organic growers who cannot use conventional insecticides.
- This study explored using a natural enemy, Hadronotus pennsylvanicus, as a biological control agent to increase parasitism rates of squash bug eggs in organic farms in Virginia.
- Results showed that releases of H. pennsylvanicus significantly improved the parasitism rates of squash bug eggs at the release sites, leading to lower survival rates of the pest's nymphs.