Source: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
IDENTIFICATION OF PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANT CRAPEMYRTLE CULTIVARS FOR NURSERY PRODUCTION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030395
Grant No.
2023-38821-39804
Cumulative Award Amt.
$590,726.00
Proposal No.
2022-10152
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 1, 2023
Project End Date
May 31, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[EQ]- Research Project
Recipient Organization
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
3500 JOHN A. MERRITT BLVD
NASHVILLE,TN 37209
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia sp.) is one of the top-selling deciduous flowering shrubs and are dominant landscape plants throughout the southern United States (Chappell et al. 2012). Crapemyrtles are used in landscaping and environmental development by public planners, private businesses, and homeowners alike. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Horticultural Specialties found that annual crapemyrtle sales were $69 million in 2019. This makes crapemyrtle a lucrative crop with high aesthetic value throughout the region. Many factors influence the profitability of the crapemyrtle industry, including consumer demand for color, the costs of production, and pest management expenditures.Crapemyrtles are threatened by several key insect pests. Crapemyrtle aphid [CMA, Tinocallis kahawaluokalani Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Aphididae)] is one of the economically significant pests that negatively impacts the appearance and growth performance of crapemyrtle (Herbert and Mizell III 2006, Frank 2019). Foliar feeding by aphids stunts growth and distorts leaves. The aphids also reduce theaesthetic quality of plants by secreting honeydew, which results in outbreaks of sooty mold on foliage. Foliar feeding beetles, including Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) and flea beetles (Altica spp.), can reduce growth and aesthetic value of plants in production and landscape. In 2004, a new insect pest of crapemyrtle was found infesting plantings in Richardson, Texas. Like the crapemyrtle aphid, crapemyrtle bark scale [CMBS; Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae Kuwana], feeds on the plant vascular tissue, but does so through the bark instead of the foliage (Chappell et al. 2012, Frank 2019). Heavy infestations result in leaf abscission and branch dieback. CMBS also produces copious amounts of honeydew, which results in unsightly sooty mold on the foliage and areas surrounding the plant.Crapemyrtles can also be negatively impacted by diseases. Powdery mildew (PM), caused by the fungus Erysiphe lagerstroemiae, is the most widespread and damaging disease observed in crapemyrtle. It occurs most often on young, actively growing plant tissues, reducing growth. Another common disease of crapemyrtle is Cercospora leaf spot (CLS), caused by the fungus Pseudocercospora lythracearum Heald and Wolf. Resistance to both pathogens has been evaluated in many of the older crapemyrtle cultivars, with the identification of PM resistance being historically important to plant breeding programs.Currently, in Tennessee, the most important insect pest of crapemyrtle is the aphid. Previous studies on the susceptibility of crapemyrtles to CMA attack have indicated that plant parentage (L. indica versus L. indica × L. fauriei) and mature plant height (dwarf, medium, or tall) can predict CMA resistance (Alverson and Allen 1992, Mizell and Knox 1993, Pettis et al. 2004). Greater CMA populations have been observed on L. indica × L. faurei cultivars than on cultivars of the species L. indica (Herbert et al. 2009, Mizell III & Knox 1993), indicating that susceptibility to CMA may be pleiotropic (Ribeiro et al. 2021). Dwarf plants were more resistant to CMA than medium or tall plants (Herbert et al. 2009, Mizell III & Knox 1993). Crapemyrtle bark scale arrived in Tennessee in 2013 in Memphis and has been slowly moving east into major cities. It is not yet present in the nursery production region of middle Tennessee. To date, resistance to CMBS has not been reported in any commercially available cultivar of crapemyrtle in the USA. Only the tropic species L. speciosa has shown any resistance to CMBS in trials (Wu et al. 2021).The main pathogen of concern to crapemyrtle in Tennessee is powdery mildew. Incorporating powdery mildew resistance into crapemyrtle has been a focus of breeders for decades. Cultivars with pure L. indica genetics tend to be more susceptible to powdery mildew. The US National Arboretum pioneered the release of L. indica × L. fauriei hybrids with powdery mildew resistance. Most popular cultivars currently on the market have some level of powdery mildew resistance (Chappell et al. 2012). However,as mentioned previously, resistance to powdery mildew may come at the cost of aphid susceptibility, and vice versa.On the production side, this research proposal will focus on the relationship between how resistance to CMA and powdery mildew is expressed under two different growing conditions: greenhouse (controlled environment) and field container production (open-air). We will also consider how management recommendations may change based on production stage (propagation or finishing) and management options (conventional chemicals or biological controls). While host plant resistance can be a great tool for pest management, there may be negative effects as well. For example, plants with some level of resistance to aphids due to higher levels of toxic compounds may inadvertently result in negative fitness costs on natural enemies that consume them. These multi-trophic interactions will be explored further in this grant.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
40%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2062110102020%
2112110113060%
2052110113020%
Knowledge Area
206 - Basic Plant Biology; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
2110 - Ornamental trees and shrubs;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1020 - Physiology;
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this proposal is to create management recommendations for crapemyrtle breeders and growers that are focused on sustainable agricultural practices. This goal will be achieved through interconnected lines of research. First, we will collate previously published crapemyrtle cultivar resistance information. Using this information, we will develop a list of cultivars with resistant and susceptible phenotypes and identify potential genetic, physical and/or physiological characteristics that can predict resistance to different pests and disease. Once potential predictive characters are identified, we will assess new cultivars for which information on resistance is absent to ground truth whether the plant characteristics we identified can be used as screening tools for resistance in new germplasm. This line of research will result in information regarding pest and disease resistance in new cultivars and research tools for breeding programs.For the purposes of this Integrated project, both Research and Extension activities will be included directly into each objective. This proposal will address the following objectives:1. Identify crapemyrtle horticultural, physiological, and biochemical traits associated with pest infestations of popular cultivars in nurseries of the southern United States to predict which cultivars are at high risk for pest and disease damage.2. Predict which cultivars are at higher risk of damage from pests and diseases during different nursery production stages (propagation or finishing) and systems (greenhouse or field).3. Analyze multitrophic interactions among crapemyrtles, crapemyrtle aphids, and natural enemies to identify whether herbivore resistance negatively impacts natural enemy fitness and success as a pest management tool.
Project Methods
Objective 1.1a. Literature Review if Crapemyrtle Horticultural Characteristics and Resistance Reports. We will begin by conducting a literature search to mine information from previous studies on cultivar resistance/susceptibility to pests and other phenotypic traits. We can use these previous studies to build a wide data set and identify gaps in knowledge of crapemyrtle susceptibility.1b. Confirmation of Reported CMA and Powdery Mildew Resistance Rankings. We will conduct greenhouse trials to assess pest and disease resistance to confirm relative ratings using side-by-side comparisons. A minimum of sixteen popular cultivars commonly produced in Tennessee nurseries with known resistance informationwill be selected for this experiment. Plants will be defoliated to clean up aphid and PM disease prior to the experiment. Fifty winged female CMAs will be released into the greenhouse and permitted to select plants to deposit nymphs. PM disease severity will be monitored over the course of the same study.Total adults and nymphs will be counted per leaf. The severity of powdery mildew will be assessed visually on a scale of 0 to 4.1c. Leaf morphological and chemical characteristics. For the same cultivars in 1a., leaf morphological characteristics will be assessed (leaf area, trichomes number, wax thickness). For the analysis of nutritive and antinutritive qualities, newly flushed and hardened leaves will be collected from uninfested plants. These tissues will be analyzed for nutritive (carbon and nitrogen, micronutrients) and anti-nutritive (alkaloids, tannins, flavanoids and polyphenols) compounds.1d. Crapemyrtle Physiological Characteristics and Volatile Organic Compound Analyses. The chlorophyll content of leaves (using SPAD Meter) will be measured every 15 days to analyze plant health and photosynthetic abilities of each plant. A portable spectrophotometer (Konica Minolta) will be used to quantify foliar color. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of three reps from each cultivar will be analyzed four times throughout the experiment: 1) prior to aphid inoculation, 2) two weeks after the first CMA inoculation, 3) four weeks after the inoculation, and 4) at the termination of the experiment. These compounds will be used to determine pest attraction and induces changes on specific cultivars.1e. Measuring Phylogenetic Signal-Phylogenetic Correlations of Constitutive Plant Characteristics. To assess the role of phylogenetic relationships in trait heritage, we use a statistical approach called phylogenetic comparative methods (PCA). Most statistical approaches assume that data points are independent. However, in the case of phylogenetically related species and/ or cultivars, this assumption is not met. We can use PCA as a statistical tool to measure phylogenetic signal of a specific trait across a phylogeny. Phylogenetic signal ascertains the effect of phylogenetic relatedness on trait expression. We will use this information to determine patterns in trait expression through the phylogeny and to understand how parentage is impacting the expression of specific traits. We can apply PCA applications to common statistical tests such as ANOVAs and generalized linear models to understand how specific pests and growing conditions may cause differentiated trait expression. PCMs can also be used to understand if traits correlated with CMA infestations are a pleiotropic result. In short, we can use PCM to understand if hybridization processes that are selected for desirable resistance to disease also increase susceptibility to CMA infestations. Data generated by Objective 1 will be used to predict resistance in cultivars for Objective 2. Once data from Objective 2 is generated, it will be added to the PCM to refine the model.Objective 2. In this objective we will ground truth the predictions generated by objective 1 for cultivars lacking resistance information. This objective will focus largely on CMA and PM in greenhouses. Container yard trials may see additional pest and disease damage. All pests appearing in the study site will be rated in these trials.2a. Prediction of Pest Resistance. Plants lacking information on pest resistance will be selected for these trials. Plants will be assessed for horticultural and physiological traits that were positively correlated with pest resistance in the objective 1 model. Cultivar resistance will be predicted using the screening tools prior to greenhouse and field assessments tosee how well resistance can be predicted by the model.2b. Resistance in Greenhouse Propagation. Plants lacking information on pest resistancewill be propagated from stem cuttings and will be initially grown in 4-inch plastic containers in potting media. Half of the cuttings for each cultivar will be dipped in horticultural oil (2%) prior to sticking to reduce CMA and PM inoculum. The other half of the cuttings will be stuck without pre-treatment.Pest and disease severity will be assessed as described in Objective 1a. and compared between cultivars and for horticultural oil pre-treatment effects.2c. Container Yard Trials. As of this writing, CMBS is not present in the region of Tennessee where these trials will be conducted. If CMBS appears during the period of this grant, plants will be assessed for CMBS infestation in addition to CMA, flea beetle, Japanese beetle, PM and Cercospora pressure. Plants will be rated bi-weekly throughout the summer months as described in 1a. Trials will be replicated at two or more different container yard sites with a minimum of 5 plant reps per cultivar per site.Objective 3. To analyze the indirect effects of phytochemical differences between crapemyrtle cultivars on CMA predators, we will conduct a tri-trophic study using crapemyrtle cultivars, CMA, and commercially available biological control agents. Depending on availability of species, we will use the green lacewing (GL; Chrysoperla sp.). GL have been implicated as an important natural enemy for crapemyrtle aphid. Other commercially available biological control agents may also be evaluated if preliminary trials show that CMA is a suitable food source for these insects.3a. Biocontrol Development and Mortality. We will rear CMA on cultivars with differing levels of CMA susceptibility identified in Objective 1 and 2, and use these aphids as a food source for GL. For each cultivar-colony, 5 plants will be used. Each colony will be caged with netting to prevent the aphids from dispersing. GL eggs will be transferred individually to 9 cm petri dishes and each newly hatched larva will be fed an excess of aphids from one of the colonies. Development and mortality of GL fed on CMA from different colonies will be compared. A minimum of 20 GL replicates per cultivar will be assayed. This process will be repeated with other commercially available predators and parasitoids if they are found to accept CMA as a suitable food source.3b. Aphid Toxicity. We will collect 100 CMA from each colony from immature and mature leaves and freeze dry them for analysis. The freeze-dried aphids will be weighed and homogenized twice in 80% methanol for extraction of phenolic compounds and alkaloids. The supernatant will be removed from each sample and analyzed for tannin polyphenol content as described by Perlman and Constabel (2013). Alkaloids will be quantified as described using a series of colorimetric assays. Growth and survival data of GL will be correlated with levels of phenolics and alkaloids in CMA diet. If differences in levels of anti-nutritive compounds within the aphids are observed, qualitative differences will be assessed using an LC-MS.

Progress 06/01/24 to 05/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project period has been undergraduate students, postdoctoral scholars and the scientific community as well aslocal growers and homeowners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We had five undergraduate students working on this project this session and two high school interns. Undergraduates worked on research and scientific presentations of results. One postdoctoral scientist had training on scientific experimental design, extension and review writings and oral presentations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Scientific presentations have been made at local, regional and national meetings. Extension articles have been published for use by growers, landscapersand homeowners. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Data collection will continue for field and laboratory studies. A manuscript will be prepared to summarize field activityof aphids and beneficial insects in container production and landscape. Trainings will be conducted with county agents and growers.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Identify crapemyrtle horticultural, physiological, and biochemical traits associated with pest infestations of popular cultivars in nurseries of the southern United States to predict which cultivars are at high risk for pest and disease damage. We added new cultivars into our original nutritional assessment and are analyzing phylogenetic constraints on characteristics and possible mechanisms for pest and disease damage. We are currently mapping characteristics associated with plant resistance to understand trait heredity and role of parentage. Predict which cultivars are at higher risk of damage from pests and diseases during different nursery production stages (propagation or finishing) and systems (greenhouse or field). We analyzed pest treatment efficacy on 7 cultivars of crapemyrtle using chemical and biological control methods including Aria, Insecticidal soap, lady bugs, and 2 parasitoids. Aria was the most successful for treatment of any cultivar. However, lady bugs performed significantly well at controlling CMA infestations on Purple Magic. We collected sticky traps deployed from May to August 2024 from both established landscape and container-grown (production) 15 different crapemyrtle cultivars for the identification of pest and predator populations. When summarizing the entire season data, we found that Ebony cultivars (Ebony fire, Ebony Embers, Ebony glow and Ebony flame) exhibited higher aphid populations in established landscape condition, while no significant differences were observed among cultivars in container-grown conditions. Similarly, we calculated predator to aphid ratio, which was significantly different among established crapemyrtle cultivars in landscape but showed no significant differences among container-grown cultivars. However, we analyzed the data by month, aphid populations in landscape conditions differed significantly in June and July, whereas in container-grown conditions, significant differences were observed in July. Additionally, we calculated the ladybug per aphids, which differed significantly in landscape conditions but showed no significant differences among container-grown crapemyrtle cultivars. Analyze multitrophic interactions among crapemyrtles, crapemyrtle aphids, and natural enemies to identify whether herbivore resistance negatively impacts natural enemy fitness and success as a pest management tool. We analyzed aphid preference to VOCs from certain crapemyrtle cultivars. Purple Magic was commonly preferred, but more experiments are needed to understand why. We have worked out a method to record nutrient allocation in the cuticle of CMA to understand how plant host phytochemistry may be affecting natural predators. We analyzed the larval mortality percentages across different instars of green lacewing (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) feeding with crapemyrtle aphid grown on various crapemyrtle cultivars, along with the overall larval mortality. Among the cultivars, 'Muskogee' and 'Townhouse' exhibited the highest overall larval mortality at 40%, followed by 'Acoma' with the same percentage. 'Carolina Beauty', 'Catawba', 'Ebony Ivory', 'Ebony Flame', and 'Ebony Embers' each had an overall mortality rate of 20%. Notably, 'Miami', 'Ebony Fire', and the 'Control group' recorded 0% mortality, indicating that larvae survived entirely on these cultivars. Mortality varied across instars, with some cultivars showing increased susceptibility at specific instars, particularly in the 2nd instar. These findings suggest differential resistance among crapemyrtle cultivars to predator larval development. We released Aphidius ervi (Parasitic wasp), Orius insidiosus (minute pirate bug) and Aphidoletes aphidimyza (aphid midges) in the greenhouse on crapemyrtle cultivars infested with aphids. However, they did not lay eggs in the crapemyrtle aphid, and we found on further expansion of parasitoid generations. Crapemyrtle aphids may not be suitable host for these natural enemies.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kripa Dhakal, and Karla M. Addesso.Effect of different crapemyrtle cultivar on the survival of green lacewing, Chrysoperla rufilabris in laboratory conditions. Entomological Society of America (ESA) annual meeting, Phoenix, Arizona. November 9-13, 2024
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Kripa Dhakal, and Karla M. Addesso. Monitoring crapemyrtle aphid and natural enemy populations in field and container-grown crapemyrtle cultivars. Entomological Society of America- Southeastern Branch (ESA-SEB) meeting, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. March 8-12, 2025
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Kripa Dhakal, and Karla M. Addesso. Crapemyrtle aphid preference. Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering seminar, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN. March 20, 2025
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Dhakal, K., Barrios, K., Addesso, KM. 2025. Crapemyrtle Aphid. TSU Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, Tennessee State University. TSU-25-264(A)-12b-13515.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Dhakal, K., Barrios, K., Addesso, KM. 2025. Crapemyrtle Bark Scale. TSU Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, Tennessee State University. TSU-25-551(A)-13c-13515.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Frary, D., Perkovich, C., & Addesso, K. (2025) Studies on management of crape myrtle aphids. Ashland University Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium, Ashland, OH.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Palmer, J., & Perkovich, C. (2025). Pre and Post Digestive Cues of the Crapemyrtle Aphid (CMA: Tinocallis kahawaluokalani) Relating to Anti-Nutrit BiologyBive Constituents. Ashland University Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium, Ashland, OH.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Palmer, J., & Perkovich, C. (2025). Suggested Methods of Deterrence for Crapemyrtle Aphids (CMA: Tinocallis kahawaloukalani) on Crapemyrtle Trees Using Known Phytochemical and Behavioral Information. Ashland University Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium, Ashland, OH.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Oh, Y. & Perkovich, C. Management of crape myrtle aphid on crape myrtle in greenhouses. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ. November 9-13, 2024
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Palmer, J., Perkovich, C., Dhakal, K., & Addesso, K.M. Pre and Post digestive cues of the crapemyrtle aphid (CMA: Tinocallis kahawaluokalani) relating to anti-nutritive constituents. Entomological Society of America annual meeting, Phoenix, AZ. November 9-13, 2024.


Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project period has been undergraduate students, postdoctoral scholars and the scientific community. Changes/Problems:Delays in processingof funding resulted in hiring of the postdoc in fall of 2023 when plants were already going dormant. Therefore,2024 was the first field season of trials. We will likely require an additional field season to complete the proposed objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Six undergraduate students have been provided with the opportunity to do hands-on research. This includes experimental design and data collection as well as statistical analysis with R Studio. One undergraduate student presented a scientific poster on their research at a university symposium. One postdoctoral scholar attended a scientific conference and presented results in the form of a poster. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to scientific colleagues through the Ashland symposium and the ARD Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to complete and publish the literature search and meta-analysis for current cultivars. We will continue nutrient-antinutrient analyzes of new crape myrtle cultivars and associated pest resistance experiments. Field trials for 2024 predation surveys will run through summer. The results of the trials will be analyzed to direct next season's research. Lab bioassays of predator-aphid-host cultivar interactions will continue in order to identify the source of aphid toxicity.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Identify crapemyrtle horticultural, physiological, and biochemical traits associated with pest infestations of popular cultivars in nurseries of the southern United States to predict which cultivars are at high risk for pest and disease damage. We have analyzed 56 cultivars of crapemyrtle and recorded polyphenol, tannin, sugar, volatile organic compound, and condensed tannin data. For 12 of these cultivars, we evaluated pest pressure and damage in a greenhouse setting. There was no correlation found between total polyphenol concentrations and pest damage. However, we did find a weak negative correlation between condensed tannin and whitefly damage. As more pest damage assessments are performed, we anticipate stronger trends and patterns to emerge. We collected leaf samples from established crapemyrtle field (16 cultivars, 3 Replications) to identify the alkaloid level in different cultivars to correlate alkaloid levels with aphid resistance. We have also completed data mining for pest populations and beginning to assess results across studies. This data collection and meta-analysis will help provide clarity to which cultivars are already known to be susceptible to which pests. 2. Predict which cultivars are at higher risk of damage from pests and diseases during different nursery production stages (propagation or finishing) and systems (greenhouse or field). Assessments were performed to record the prevalence of Cercospora and powdery mildew on 12 cultivars propagated in a greenhouse from cuttings. In the container yard, we started experiments with 22 cultivars (5 reps) which are in the one-galloon pot. Before starting we released aphid with a leaf in each pot to make sure all plants are infested with aphids. We deployed the sticky card (3×5") in each pot, collected every two weeks and counted the predator and aphid population. Also, we collected 3 leaves from each plant at the beginning of the experiment and counted the number of aphids as an initial population. Predator and pest populations will be monitored over summer 2024. 3. Analyze multitrophic interactions among crapemyrtles, crapemyrtle aphids, and natural enemies to identify whether herbivore resistance negatively impacts natural enemy fitness and success as a pest management tool. We have started rearing crapemyrtle aphids on 6 cultivars of crapemyrtle ('Red Rocket', 'Ruffled Red', 'Acoma', 'Hopi', 'Tuscorora', 'Sioux', and 'Ebony Fire') in a greenhouse. Data shows that from the 6 cultivars, aphid populations reach the greatest densities on 'Ebony Fire'. We are working to assess the bioaccumulation of plant semiochemicals in the aphids to understand how this may negatively effect lacewing larvae. Two predators, green lacewings (Chrysoperla rufilabris) and multicolored Asian ladybug (Harmonia axyridis) larvae were fed with crape myrtle aphids reared on different crape myrtle cultivars (e.g. 'Carolina Beauty', 'Miami', 'Muskogee', 'Ebony Flame', 'Ebony Fire', and 'Ebony Embers') and compared tocontrol treatment reared onEphestia eggs. Larvae fed with aphids had a longer larval duration and higher mortality compared to the controls. The survival of green lacewing larvae depends heavily on the quality of their prey. The results of this and future studies will help us understand the interaction between crape myrtle aphid resistance and the impact of plant resistance traits on aphid predators. We deployed the sticky card (5×7) in the established crapemyrtle field with 16 cultivars (3 Reps) and counted the population of predators (Green lacewing, ladybug, and parasitic wasp) present under natural conditions. Aphidius ervi, a generalist parasitic wasp, was evaluated for use as as a potential biocontrol for crape myrtle aphid. Parasitoids were released into cages aphid-infested plants. This parasitoid does not appear to accept crapemyrtle aphid as a host.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Dhakal, K., C. Perkovich, K. M. Addesso. 2024. Crape Myrtle Pest Management. Association of 1890 Research Directors Biennial Research Symposium, Gaylord Opryland Hotel, 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN, 37214, US.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Palmer, J., C. Perkovich, K.M. Addesso. 2024. Phytochemical traits of crape myrtle. Poster presentation at the Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium. Ashland University, Ashland, OH. USA.