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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #141352

Title: ALTERNATIVES TO CONVENTIONAL CHEMICAL INSECTICIDES FOR CONTROLOF GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER

Author
item Puterka, Gary
item LUVISI, DON - UC COOP EXT SVC, CALIF
item CIOMPERLIK, MATT - USDA-APHIS PPQ, TEXAS
item Civerolo, Edwin

Submitted to: CDFA Pierce's Disease Control Program Research Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Glassywinged sharpshooter (GWSS) was recently introduced into California and soon became a serious threat to the grape industry because it is a very efficient vector of Pierce's disease. Contact and systemic insecticides have been shown to be ineffective in preventing Pierce's disease. Therefore two new technologies, sugar esters and particle film, were studied to determine how useful they were in controlling GWSS. The particle film, Surround WP Crop Protectant, protects plants from insect feeding, oviposition, and infestation by coating the plant surfaces with a protective mineral barrier. In caged field studies, we found that GWSS nymphs and adults were highly repelled by lemon trees treated with Surround WP. We also found that three biweekly Surround WP treatments outperformed six weekly conventional contact insecticide treatments in preventing GWSS infestations in grape in March and April, 2001. Two sugar ester chemistries, sucrose octanoate and sorbitol octanoate, were evaluated for their ability to kill GWSS adults in a citrus grove in August, 2002. We found that a 1.0% solution sucrose octanoate obtained 98% kill within 1 hour after application, while sorbitol octanoate produced only 65% kill at the same rate. From these studies we have shown that Surround WP performed better than insecticides with half the applications needed and that sucrose octanoate can provide excellent control of GWSS. These two technologies are registered as insecticides and are made from materials internationally recognized as food ingredients which makes them safe and effective materials for GWSS control.