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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sunflower and Plant Biology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #139299
Title: BIOLOGY AND INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT OF THE SUNFLOWER STEM WEEVILS IN THE GREAT PLAINS

Author
item KNODEL, JANET - NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV.
item Charlet, Laurence

Submitted to: North Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Bulletin
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2002
Publication Date: 10/1/2002
Citation: KNODEL, J.J., CHARLET, L.D. BIOLOGY AND INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT OF THE SUNFLOWER STEM WEEVILS IN THE GREAT PLAINS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION BULLETIN E-821. 2002. P. 1-8.

Interpretive Summary: The sunflower stem weevil is an insect pest that has caused economic damage to sunflower in the northern and southern Great Plains of the United States and into Canada. It is native to North America and well adapted to wild and cultivated sunflowers, feeding on the plant tissues of the stem and leaves. Heavy infestations of this sunflower pest can result in lodging of the sunflower plant prior to harvest. Another weevil called the black sunflower stem weevil also occurs in the Great Plains and attacks sunflower as a host. This bulletin reports on the distribution and description of life stages of the insects, their life history, field monitoring, economic thresholds, and damage. Integrated pest management strategies are discussed including cultural control tactics of delayed planting and cultivation, plant resistance, biological control, and chemical control.

Technical Abstract: The sunflower stem weevil is an insect pest that has caused economic damage to sunflower in the northern and southern Great Plains of the United States and into Canada. It is native to North America and well adapted to wild and cultivated sunflowers, feeding on the plant tissues of the stem and leaves. Heavy infestations of this sunflower pest can result in lodging of the sunflower plant prior to harvest. Another weevil called the black sunflower stem weevil also occurs in the Great Plains and attacks sunflower as a host. This bulletin reports on the distribution and description of life stages of the insects, their life history, field monitoring, economic thresholds, and damage. Integrated pest management strategies are discussed including cultural control tactics of delayed planting and cultivation, plant resistance, biological control, and chemical control.