Progress 08/01/11 to 07/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences for my research results and for the distribution of general biological information onthe brown marmorated stink bug were mainly commercial fruit-growers, state and federal regulatory officials, extension agents, foresters, professional entomologists, gardeners, and homeowners. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results of distributional surveys andtrapping experiments were shared with state and private foresters at a forest health workshop, with fruit-growers at themeetings of the Connecticut PomologicalSociety, with stateandfederal regulatoryofficials at advisory committee meetings of the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA,with farmers and other state citizens at thefield day ofthe Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, with professional entomologists at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, and with entomologists and extension agents at the Annual New England, New York, and Canadian Fruit Pest Management Workshop. In addition, new data from this project and general biological data on stink bugs were provided tohomeowners who contactedthe principal investigatorby phone or in writing. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The brown marmorated stink bug is an Asianinsect that potentially can injure many crops grown in the United States. In its native distributional range of China, Korea, and Japan, it is an agricultural pest of soybean, tree fruit, vegetables, ornamental plants, and other crops.Adults of the invasive stink bug alsoare nuisance pests in the United States and abroad becausethey enter homes and other human-made structures during the late summer and fall whenthey seek shelter from harsh winter conditions.Since its accidental introduction into the United States in 1996,the brown marmorated stinkbughas spread to about 40 states and has become a crop pest in both the eastern and the western United States.In 2010 alone, this stink bug caused 37 million dollars of damage to apples grown in the mid-Atlantic states.With the stink bug present, and apparently increasing, in many Connecticut locations, it is important to develop effective methods to monitor populations to determine when they reach injurious levels.An effective monitoring method will assist stakeholders in timing control methods properly, thereby reducing the crop damage and the economic impact caused by the brown marmorated stink bug. Objective 2 of the multi-state Hatch project:Develop monitoring methods for the brown marmorated stink bug. Early detection of adults and nymphs of the invasive brown marmorated stink bugcan reduce crop injury by allowinggrowers to initiatecontrol methods before damage is widespread.Based upon captures of adults with a uv-lighttrap on a diversified farm during 2012 and 2013,the brown marmorated stink bug isstill below the population level that has resulted in crop injury elsewhere in the United States.Surprisingly, light-trap captures were lower in 2013 than 2012, even though the number ofcitizen reports was higher in2013. Adults or nymphs were foundon apple trees and eggplants in 2013, but their presence could not be linked to foliar or fruit damage.Records thatwere provided bythe public andverified by the principal investigator have assisted in determining the distribution and the abundance of thisstink bug in Connecticut.Based upon data collected to date and summarized in an Excel database, this stink bug has spread to all counties and 81 towns (municipalities) in Connecticut.In a replicated experiment at the edge of an apple orchard, four types of traps baited with an aggregation pheromone (methyl 2,4,6 decatrienoate) caught onlytwo adult stinkbugs in late summer; thus,at present populations are too low to conduct meaningful research.To assist the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture in tracing the spread of the brown marmorated stink bug in the United States, the first county records from Connecticut were entered into the database of the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS).
Publications
|
Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The non-native brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, has had a costly impact upon fruit, vegetable, soybean, and nut crops grown in the United States. In 2010 alone, its damage to apples in the mid-Atlantic states was estimated to be $37 million dollars. An important step in mitigating the impact of this invasive bug upon agriculture is to develop an effective method of detection and monitoring that will allow stakeholders to determine its presence in crops and the need for potential management. Effective monitoring of populations should improve the management of the brown marmorated stink bug by reducing the number of unwarranted insecticidal sprays and therefore the cost of management. Ultimately, improved management should contribute to a safer food supply. Initially, blacklight traps and reports of citizen scientists and farmers will be used to establish baseline information on the distribution and abundance of the brown marmorated stink bug. This baseline data, particularly that gathered with blacklight traps placed on farms in Connecticut, will be valuable for detecting the movement of adult bugs from overwintering sites into agricultural crops, for measuring population increases, and for detecting adult emergence late in the growing season. In addition, experiments underway to develop a new trap or to improve an existing one are intended to produce an inexpensive trap that could be used by stakeholders in the region. The number of stink bugs captured also may be useful for comparing population trends in different areas of the eastern United States. Survey and experimental results from this project were reported orally or with poster displays at meetings, field days, and other events attended by commercial fruit and vegetable growers, extension agents, survey specialists, IPM specialists, home gardeners, and professional entomologists. PARTICIPANTS: The main investigator, Chris Maier (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station), designed the research and supervised most aspects of the field work. During 2012, Morgan Lowry assisted by collecting samples from blacklight and other traps. Many individuals that volunteered in cooperative extension offices or that brought specimens to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station helped in the effort to determine the distribution of the brown marmorated stink bug in Connecticut. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for my research findings mainly are commercial growers, extension agents, survey specialists, IPM specialists, home gardeners, and professional entomologists. Results of surveys, trapping experiments, or both were reported to state and private foresters at a forest health workshop, to fruit-growers at the annual meeting of the Connecticut Pomological Society, to state officials and stakeholders at advisory committee meetings of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA, to farmers and other state citizens at a field day of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, to professional entomologists at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, to entomologists and plant pathologists at the Annual New England, New York, and Canadian Fruit Pest Management Workshop, and to researchers and extension agents at the multistate Hatch meeting at Rutgers University. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Costly injury from the brown marmorated stink bug can be decreased by detecting adults or nymphs in susceptible crops to time control measures better. New data from trapping adults in blacklight traps in 2012 have shown, especially when compared to findings in other northeastern states, that populations in Connecticut, although increasing, are still below a damaging level and thus do not yet require insecticidal management. Data collected on the time of adult captures in July through September may allow the adult emergence of the summer generation to be predicted, perhaps by modeling with accumulated degree-days, especially after data are collected for several years. Distributional records that were gathered from reports of citizens and farmers and databased have helped to determine the spread and, to a lesser extent, the abundance of this eastern Asian stink bug in Connecticut. Based upon data collected through 2012, this invasive bug occurs in all counties and in 61 municipalities (towns) in Connecticut. In a relicated experiment conducted at the border of an apple orchard and forest in late summer, four types of inexpensive traps baited with an aggregation pheromone (methyl 2,4,6 decatrienoate) caught only two adults of the brown marmorated stink bug. The scarcity of adults in traps probably was related to the low population size; thus, these low-cost traps, perhaps with a new lure, may be tested again in 2013 to evaluate their usefulness. To assist the United States Department of Agriculture in tracking the spread of the brown marmorated stink bug in the United states, the first county records from Connecticut were entered into the database of the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS). Findings from my studies in this and subsequent years should contribute to improved crop health, reduced cost of management of stink bugs, and safer food.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|