Beneficial Insects and Mites
While in your fields in the last week you may have noticed fewer striped cucumber beetles on the leaves and stems of the growing cucurbit plants (Figure 1). This is because there are two generations of this pest in Indiana; the 1st generation adults that overwintered in the field have mated and left behind their[Read More…]
Would you like to learn more about biological control and how to use it successfully? New York State Integrated Pest Management biocontrol specialist Amara Dunn has a new blog – “Biocontrol Bytes” (https://blogs.cornell.edu/biocontrolbytes/). Short articles are posted approximately once a month to share information, answer stakeholder questions, and connect readers to other relevant resources. Subscribe[Read More…]
Over the past several weeks, there have been a number of reports of high populations of aphids on cucurbits, as well as report of disappointing levels of control with various insecticides. Without getting into the specifics of individual complaints, here are some suggestions for improved control of aphids. Remember that our primary method of control[Read More…]
Supplementing the natural enemy population to control insect pests, i.e. augmentation biological control, is of interest to many high tunnel producers. Augmentation biological control has proven very effective at managing a number of greenhouse pests and there are a variety of commercial suppliers. For high tunnels, the greatest challenge is keeping the released predators or[Read More…]
We have begun to receive the first reports of aphid outbreaks in high tunnels on tomato, pepper, and cucumber (Figure 1). Aphids are a very common problem in high tunnels because the covering excludes rainfall, which is a major mortality factor for small insects like aphids. Some growers are interested in using biological control in[Read More…]
Indiana is working on a state pollinator protection plan, which is being spearheaded by the Office of the Indiana State Chemist with input from various stakeholders, including growers, farm chemical company representatives and beekeepers. A large part of the plan will involve protecting bees from pesticides. This plan is part of a national movement initiated[Read More…]
During the past two weeks, I am aware of two beehives that were almost decimated when insecticides were used nearby. In both cases, the commercial applicators had used the DriftWatch program before spraying to look for sensitive crops or bees near the targeted crop. However, neither hive was recorded in DriftWatch. DriftWatch is a web-based program to help[Read More…]
As you all know, many of our vegetable crops are dependent upon pollinators to move pollen from flower to flower. The cucurbits, muskmelons, cucumbers, watermelons, pumpkins, and squash, are completely dependent on insect pollination. Eggplant, okra, lima beans, and peppers will set fruit without pollinators but can have increased yield if pollinators are present. Honey[Read More…]