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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Southern Insect Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #303518

Title: Importance of tarnished plant bug as a USDA ARS research priority

Author
item Luttrell, Randall
item KING, EDGAR - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Midsouth Entomologist
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2014
Publication Date: 9/1/2014
Citation: Luttrell, R.G., King, E. 2014. Importance of tarnished plant bug as a USDA ARS research priority. Midsouth Entomologist. 7(2):89-98.

Interpretive Summary: As a component of a review of tarnished plant bug (TPB) research by the Mississippi Entomological Association, this article summarizes research conducted by USDA ARS scientists at Stoneville, Mississippi. TPB and its impact on cotton has been a topic of continuous study by Stoneville scientists since the 1960s. More than 60 scientific articles and hundreds of presentations and proceedings abstracts document this work. This research has included a wide range of studies from basic ecology and molecular genetics to demonstration of the economic benefits of controlling TPB in cotton and on wild host plants. Research by Stoneville USDA scientists influenced a shift in traditional IPM approaches on cotton by illustrating the impact of the insect on crop maturity and profitability. This collective information is a major fraction of the total known information about this insect pest, especially as it relates to cotton. It should provide necessary foundation knowledge to develop more sophisticated management systems. It is also a unique example of the responsiveness of ARS research to practical insect control problems at the farm level.

Technical Abstract: Environmental and economic management of tarnished plant bug (TPB) (Lygus lineolaris) on cotton has been an area of continuous study by USDA scientists in Stoneville, Mississippi since the 1960s. Maintaining economically viable cotton production has required dynamic research information and increasingly sophisticated management approaches for this native insect that feeds on many cultivated and wild host plants. In close collaboration with university partners, USDA scientists in Stoneville accumulated a wealth of scientific information on TPB that routinely addressed changing management challenges and continues to provide benchmark information needed to sustain economic cotton production in the Mississippi Delta. More than 60 scientific journal articles have been published on TPB by Stoneville scientists, and hundreds of conference proceedings and scientific presentations have been made by USDA scientists at various scientific and production conferences. Research by Stoneville USDA scientists influenced a shift in traditional IPM approaches on cotton by illustrating the impact of the insect on crop maturity and profitability. This collective information is a major fraction of the total known information about this insect pest, especially as it relates to cotton. In this paper, the major research accomplishments of USDA scientists at Stoneville, Mississippi studying the biology, ecology and control of TPB on cotton are summarized. Future scientists will build increasingly sophisticated and effective pest management systems using the fundamental information accumulated in these USDA studies.