Location: Southern Insect Management Research
2020 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Field efficacy of B. bassiana for control of the tarnished plant bug and other insect pests. Microbial insecticides are an important component of many insect pest management programs. ARS researchers in Stoneville, Mississippi, continued field experiments that determined mortalities and estimate lethal doses of potential microbial insecticides including the native Delta strain NI8 and the commercial strain GHA on feral tarnished plant bug populations and red banded stink bug on cotton and soybean, respectively were completed and published. Results indicated that B. bassiana applications resulted in decreased survival of tarnished plant bugs by >50% regardless of the isolate by direct spray or contact under field conditions. These studies will impact the development of non-chemical control methods used in cotton integrated pest management systems across the southern United States.
Review Publications
Parys, K.A., Portilla, M. 2020. Effectiveness of Beauveria bassiana against Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a key pest of soybeans in the Neotropics. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 30:5 451-461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2020.1731426.
Sharma, A., Sandhi, R.K., Reddy, G.V. 2019. A review of interactions between insect biological control agents and semiochemicals. Insects. 10(12):439. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10120439.
Reddy, G.V., Sharma, A., Guerrero, A. 2020. Advances in the use of semiochemicals in integrated pest management: Pheromones. Biopesticides for Sustainable Agriculture. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Doddds Science Publishing Limited. 30 p. https://doi.org/10.19103/AS.2020.0073.12.
Maniania, N.K., Portilla, M., Amnulla, F.M., Darie, A., Ghiman, G., Rao, I.M. 2020. NoVil: Hunt for weevil control: Update! IOBC/WPRS Bulletin (Abstract for Conference Proceedings). 150:33-38.
Ghaemmaghami, E., Fathipour, Y., Bagheri, A., Talebi, A., Reddy, G.V. 2020. Quality control of the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) over 45 generations of rearing on Sitotroga cerealella . Insect Science. 28(1):180-190. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12757.
Portilla, M. 2020. A laboratory diet-overlay bioassay to monitor resistance in Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae) to insecticide commonly used in the Mississippi Delta. Journal of Insect Science. 20:4;1-13. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa067.
Wang, L., Gao, F., Reddy, G.V., Zhao, Z. 2020. Optimization of nitrogen fertilizer application enhances biocontrol function and net income. Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaa112.
