Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/13
Outputs Target Audience: Our efforts reached the following target audiences: commercial pest management companies, turfgrass managers, homeowners, Master Gardeners, sod growers, county Extension faculty, and Florida regulators (FDACS). These groups are a mix of ethnic and socioeconomic statuses. Changes/Problems: No major changes occurred under Objective 1. However, under Objective 2, we faced the challenge of working with homeowners directly and when they were told that they had chinch bugs, many of them wanted to apply an insecticide. If they did (they didn't always tell us), it may have affected Navneet's sampling data or the yard was removed from further sampling.We were unable to accomplish the demonstration of an IPM program for the southern chinch bug underObjective 4d due to time constraints and lack of participants. A new objective was developed to evaluate the effect of two plant growth regulators on St. Augustinegrass health and subsequent damage by the southern chinch bug. We examined the impact of using mefluidide and trinexapac-ethyl on turf health and fitness of Blissus insularis Barber in St. Augustinegrass in laboratory and field tests. In addition, preliminary data were collected with Y-tube olfactometer bioassays regarding the southern chinch bug's preference for fertilized vs. unfertilized St. Augustinegrass cultivars 'Captiva' and 'Floratam'. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A Ph.D. student was trained and is graduating in December 2013.She attendedsix regional and/or nationalprofessional entomology conferences and presented research and Extension results at each one. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results from this researchhas been incorporated into the UF/IFAS Pest Management University Lawn and Ornamentaltraining programs led by EA Buss and heldin Apopka, FL (https://pmu.ifas.ufl.edu/courses). A separate 8-hour (one-day) Pest Control Operator training was developed and delivered to 62 attendees and broadcast to four participating locations on 17 May 2012. The program focused on the integrated pest management of the southern chinch bug.The PI's presentations were: Buss, EA.2012. Biology and management of southern chinch bugs and other key turf pests. Basics of Turfgrass Pest Management-Chinch Bug Edition. Statewide Polycom Training for Florida Turfgrass Pest Managers. Presentation at the Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL. Gillett-Kaufman, JL. 2012. Lawn health - chinch bugs cause weeds?Basics of Turfgrass Pest Management-Chinch Bug Edition. Statewide Polycom Training for Florida Turfgrass Pest Managers.Presentation at the Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL. Three science-based extension publications were written as part of this project: - Kaur N, Buss EA, Gillett-Kaufman JL. 2013. General Lawn Pests: Chinch Bugs. National eXtension Website, Urban Integrated Pest Management. http://www.extension.org/pages/70039/general-lawn-pests:-chinch-bugs - Buss, EA. 2013. Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Southern chinch bugs. Pest Pro 9(5): 18-19. - Kaur, N., Buss, EA, andGillett-Kaufman, JL. 2012. Management changes in St. Augustinegrass to minimize damage by the southern chinch bug. Florida Pest Pro 8 (7): 12, 13, 15. Project updates were also disseminated by N. Kaur verbally and with handouts during the 2012 and 2013 Northcentral Turfgrass Field Days, held at the University of Florida Plant Science Unit in Citra, FL. This publication will be updated in early 2014: Buss, EA. 2014. Southern chinch bug management on St. Augustinegrass. University of Florida/IFAS, EDIS Extension Fact Sheet ENY-325. 4 pgs. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/LH/LH03600.pdf Ten FAQs were submitted to the National eXtension Website "Ask an Expert" section in summer 2013, and are still pending editorial approval. https://ask.extension.org/. In addition, at least three peer-reviewed research manuscripts will be submitted based on the chapters written in the UF dissertation by Navneet Kaur. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Greater B. insularis survival, faster development rate, and increased fecundity were observed when nymphs were reared on ‘Captiva’ (tolerant) and ‘Floratam’ (susceptible) St. Augustinegrass treated with nitrogen fertilizer used at 400 and 300 kg ha-1 yr-1 rate compared to unfertilized plants, regardless of fertilizer sources (ammonium sulfate or sulfur coated urea). Highly fertilized plants were preferred by B. insularis in choice tests compared to unfertilized control plants. 2. Periodic lawn sampling indicated that light intensity, thatch thickness, and mowing height were positively associated with B. insularis densities. Lawns under regimes of no fertilizer and no pesticide inputs had fewer B. insularis than lawns under both a fertilizer and pesticide maintenance program. 3. Higher densities of B. insularis were present in the St. Augustinegrass plots fertilized using 300 kg ha-1 yr-1 rate than in unfertilized plots during field experiments, confirming our laboratory studies. Significantly fewer B. insularis occurred in field plots maintained at mowing heights of 7.5 cm than in plots mowed at 10 cm. The decline in thatch layer thickness and subsequent B. insularis densities following two verticutting events indicated the significance of thatch management. Application of plant growth regulators to St. Augustinegrass reduced B. insularis survival in laboratory bioassays, however no toxicity was observed in a contact bioassay. Significant declines in B. insularis densities were observed in plots treated with either Primo Maxx® or Embark® compared to control field plots.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Kaur, N., L. Trenholm, J. Gillett-Kaufman, and E. A. Buss. 2011. Association between B. insularis population densities and St. Augustinegrass health in home lawns (poster). National Entomological Society of America Meeting, Reno, NV.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Kaur, N., and E. A. Buss. 2011. Effect of different N rates and sources on population dynamics and fecundity of Blissus insularis (Barber) when reared on Captiva and Floratam St. Augustinegrass. (poster). Entomological Society of America Southeastern Branch Meeting. Knoxville, TN.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Kaur, N. 2013. Manipulating maintenance practices to reduce the susceptibility of two St. Augustinegrass cultivars to Blissus insularis Barber (Hemiptera: Blissidae). University of Florida/IFAS Ph.D. dissertation. Gainesville, FL. 136 pp.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Kaur, N, Gillett-Kaufman J, and Buss, EA. 2011. Association between southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber (Hemiptera: Blissidae) density and St. Augustinegrass parameters. Poster. National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Reno, NV.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Kaur, N and Buss, EA. 2013. Manipulation of cultural practices to reduce Blissus insularis Barber (Hemiptera: Blissidae) densities in St.
Augustinegrass. Oral Paper. National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Buss, E. A., F. P. Baxendale,T. M. Heng-Moss, and J. A. Reinert. 2012. Chinch Bugs. pp. 22-24, In R. Brandenburg and M. Villani (eds.), Handbook of Turfgrass Insect Pests.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Kaur, N. and E. A. Buss. Effect of mowing and thatch on populations of the southern chinch bug. National Entomological Society of America Meeting, Knoxville, TN. 11/13/12. 15 min talk.
|
Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs OUTPUTS: Activities from 9/1/10 to 8/31/11 included obtaining the addresses and permission to survey the lawns of more than 100 people in Alachua and Marion Counties. A member of each property completed an online survey. The front yard of each property that was primarily St. Augustinegrass was sampled in May and June 2011 to determine the number of southern chinch bugs, and attempt to associate chinch bug density with soil moisture and temperature, soil pH, thatch thickness, grass height and density, chlorophyll content, grass color, weed density, and big eyed bug density. A subset of these lawns were sampled again in July and August 2011. In another test at the UF Plant Science Unit, plots were periodically treated with varying rates of nitrogen fertilizer to promote thatch development and determine if chinch bug numbers varied based on the treatments. A field day presentation on the research being conducted on the southern chinch bug was given in May 2011. Two presentations were given in spring 2011 (in Orlando and Tampa) on the management of insecticide resistance in the southern chinch bug. The audiences consisted of lawn care professionals and county extension faculty. Additional information about this project and resistance management was provided at the 2011 National Turfgrass Entomology Workshop in Boise, ID, in July. Attendees at this meeting included university entomology faculty and pesticide manufacturer representatives. PARTICIPANTS: Ms. Navneet Kaur was hired as a Ph.D. student on this project. She and a technician maintained the laboratory colonies for lab and greenhouse experiments. She worked closely with Dr. Gillett-Kaufman on the online survey and lawn sampling in 2011. Navneet participated in a grant-writing workshop in the spring of 2011. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts Navneet's lawn sampling resulted in a massive database of information, so she continues to analyze the results. She learned more about statistical design and analysis, how to interact with homeowners about the southern chinch bug, and she learned how to operate several new pieces of equipment. Her results are expected to help lawn care professionals and homeowners better understand where chinch bugs live and feed in St. Augustinegrass, which may help homeowners reduce the susceptibility of those areas and promote more targeted applications by lawn care companies. Fewer applications and less land being treated is expected to reduce problems with insecticide resistance and groundwater contamination.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|