Source: AUBURN UNIVERSITY submitted to
DEVELOPMENT OF SEMIOCHEMICAL-BASED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE INVASIVE KUDZU BUG, MEGACOPTA CRIBRARIA IN SOYBEAN PRODUCTION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1006124
Grant No.
2015-69004-23420
Project No.
ALA015-1-10030
Proposal No.
2014-07616
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A5151
Project Start Date
Apr 15, 2015
Project End Date
Apr 14, 2017
Grant Year
2015
Project Director
Fadamiro, H. Y.
Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
Entomology & Plant Pathology
Non Technical Summary
Soybean is an important crop in the U.S with an annual market value of about $41.8 billion. In much of the US, soybean production is threatened by a new, invasive pest from Asia called kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria. First detected in the U.S. in 2009,kudzu bug has established in 14 states from Alabama and South Carolina to Delaware. In addition to the severe crop loss caused to soybean, kudzu bug infestation impacts international trade and commerce of agricultural produce. However, no effective control strategies other than chemical insecticides are currently available to manage this pest. The long-term goal of this project is to enhance the economic viability of soybean and legume crop production in the U.S. by developing effective management tools for kudzu bug, with special focus on trap crops and attractant-based tactics. The central hypothesis is that volatile semiochemicals (plant attractants and pheromones) mediate host finding and aggregation behavior of kudzu bug and that identification of these cues can aid the development of effective management strategies for kudzu bug. Specific objectives are to: 1) Evaluate host plant preference and identify attractive trap crops for kudzu bug, 2) Identify plant-based semiochemical attractants for kudzu bug, 3) Identify an aggregation pheromone for kudzu bug. This Strengthening Grant (Seed Grant) will enable the PIs to acquire additional preliminary data to support future standard proposals to NIFA. The project addresses several priorities listed in the RFA, specifically "early detection, mitigation of the damage caused by new, foreign or emerging insect pests".
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
50%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
21118201130100%
Knowledge Area
211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1820 - Soybean;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of the project is to enhance the economic viability of soybean and legume crop production in the southern U.S. by developing effective pest monitoring and management tools to growers. Specifically, we propose to develop effective trap cropping tactics and attractant lures for management of kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria, an invasive pest of soybean and other legume crops in the southern U.S. Specific objectives are to: 1) Evaluate host plant preference and identify attractive trap crops for M. cribraria; 2) Identify plant-based semiochemical attractants for M. cribraria; and 3) Identify an aggregation pheromone for M. cribraria.
Project Methods
The project involve laboratory, greenhouse and field studies. Laboratory experiments will be conducted at the Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University (AU). Greenhouse studies will be conducted at the AU Plant Growth Center's greenhouse. Field experiments will be conducted at the E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter, in experimental soybean plots on AU campus, and in selected soybean grower's fields in AL. The project has three objectives. In Objective 1, we will evaluate plant preference and identify trap crops for M. cribraria. This will involved series of laboratory, greenhouse and field studies. The hypothesis that attractive trap crops will reduce M. cribraria damage on adjacent soybean crops, will be tested in field studies. Objective 2 will focus on identification of plant-based semiochemical attractants for M. cribraria. This objective will involve use of multidisciplinary chemical ecology research techniques including GC, GC-MS, GC-EAD and olfactometers. The most attractive plants identified in Objective 1 will be analyzed for headspace volatile organic compounds and the identified compounds will be evaluated as attractants for M. cribraria. The ultimate goal is to employ plant attractants as monitoring (traps) or mass trapping tools for M. cribraria. In Objective 3, we will attempt to identify the the aggregation pheromone of M. cribraria. In general, the process is similar (with minor modifications) to those described in Objective 2 including volatile collection, bioassays, GC-EAD analyses and identification of biologically active peaks (peaks which elicited EAG and behavioral responses), confirmation of biological activity of identified compounds, and field testing.

Progress 04/15/15 to 04/14/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Crop producers and the scientific community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has supported training of one graduate student who graduated in December 2016 with a Master's degree in Entomology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to the scientific community in the form of peer reviewed articles and oral presentations at Entomological Society of America annual meeting in 2015 and 2016. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: The attraction of M. cribraria to different phenological stages of four legume cultivars, soybean (Glycine max (L.) (Merr.), speckled bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.), lima bean (Phaseolus limensis L.), and Jackson wonder bean, was evaluated in multiple-choice screen house experiments to investigate host preference and identify potential trap crops. Megacopta cribraria showed significant attraction to early vegetative and late reproductive growth stages of speckled beans and lima beans, and to the early reproductive growth stage of soybean. Jackson wonder bean was the least preferred cultivar, except for the late reproductive growth stage in which M. cribraria showed equal attraction to all four legume cultivars. Field tests were carried out to further evaluate the preferred cultivars as potential perimeter trap crops at two planting dates, two weeks before or at the same time as the main crop. Soybean trap crop planted either two weeks before or at the same time as the main crop was the most effective at intercepting M. cribraria. Obejctive 2: Analytical and electrophysiological experiments were conducted to compare the volatile profiles of selected legume host plants of M. cribraria with the goal of identifying plant-based semiochemical attractants for M. cribraria.The results revealed both qualitative and quantitative differences in headspace volatile profiles of the legume host plants. However, no significant difference in the attraction of M. cribraria to headspace volatiles was recorded in four-choice olfactometer bioassays. Further analysis by gas chromatography coupled with electroantennogram (GC-EAD) technique showed no significant antennal response of M. cribraria to the headspace volatiles, suggesting that plant odors (olfactory cues) in the absence of visual cues may not be sufficient to mediate host location. Objective 3: Headspace volatiles were collected from males, females, and males with females (1:1) of M. cribraria in glass aeration chambers for 6 hours to identify an aggregation pheromone. Electroantennogram (EAG) technique was used to examine response of female and male M. cribraria to the odors of the same and opposite sex. Results showed no significant antennal response of M. cribraria to the volatiles produced by conspecifics of either sex, suggesting absence of aggregation pheromone. During our field surveys, we discovered an egg parasitoid of M. cribraria identified as Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii, 1928 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), from egg masses of M. cribraria collected from soybean in Alabama. Ooencyrtus nezarae is reported to parasitize eggs from a variety of heteropteran families, and has been observed parasitizing M. cribraria in China. Until now, the distribution of O. nezarae has been limited to China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Brazil (Kobayashi and Cosenza 1987, Noyes 2010, Zhang et al. 2005). To our knowledge, this is the first report of O. nezarae in North America. The high rate of parasitism (82.8 - 100%) recorded for O. nezarae in our study indicate that O. nezarae may serve as potential long-term solution for managing this invasive insect pest.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: 1. Ademokoya, B., R. Balusu, T. Morawo, and H. Fadamiro. 2017. Attraction of Paratelenomus saccharalis (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), an egg parasitoid of Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) to host-associated olfactory cues. Journal of Entomological Science (status: accepted)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: 3. Ademokoya, B., R. R. Balusu, C. H. Ray, J. L. Mottern, and H. Y. Fadamiro. 2017. The first record of Ooencyrtus nezarae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) on Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) in North America. Journal of Insect Science. (Status: preparation)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: 2. Ademokoya, B., R. R. Balusu, and H. Y. Fadamiro. 2017. Host preference of Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) on four legume cultivars: implications for trap cropping. Environmental Entomology (status: in review).


Progress 04/15/15 to 04/14/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Soybean producers and the scientific community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This grant is supporting training of a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to the scientific community in the form of an oral presentation at the Entomological Society of America annual meeting in 2015. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The following studies are proposed for the next reporting period: i) field evaluation of candidate trap crops, ii) behavioral and analytical studies to identify compounds from the headspace of tested host plants that are attractive to M. cribraria, and iii) behavioral and analytical studies to identify an aggregation pheromone for M. cribraria.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Evaluate host plant preference and identify attractive trap crops for M. cribraria. The attractiveness of M. cribraria to select leguminous host plants (ford hook lima bean, giant speckled bean and Jackson wonder butter bean) was evaluated against soybean at different plant phenological stages in a multiple choice screen house experiment. Results showed that giant speckled beans at early vegetative stage and fordhook lima beans at late reproductive stage, were significantly more attractive to M. cribraria than soybean. The attractive host plants identified in this study are currently being evaluated in field trials as potential trap crops for managing M. cribraria in soybean production. Objective 2: Identify plant-based semiochemical attractants for M. cribraria. Laboratory experiments were conducted to compare the volatile profiles of select host plants of M. cribraria with the goal of identifying the semiochemicals that mediate host preference. The results revealed both qualitative and quantitative differences in headspace volatile profiles among the tested host plants. It is expected that ongoing GC-EAD analysis will help to identify biologically active compound in the volatile profiles of attractive host plants. Also, behavioral olfactometer studies are currently being conducted to evaluate the attractiveness of host plant volatiles to M. cribraria. Objective 3: Identify an aggregation pheromone for M. cribraria. This study is proposed for year two (2016).

Publications