Trap Crops for Leaffooted Bug Management in Tomatoes
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 5, Issue 2 - December 2012
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Leaffooted bugs are a major challenge to vegetable production in the southeastern United States. Crop quality can rapidly deteriorate resulting in major economic loss for farmers. Trap crop is an alternative IPM tactic that was evaluated in Alabama in 2011 and 2012. Perimeter trap crop system incorporating sorghum (NK300) and Peredovik sunflower provided significant reduction in pesticide usage on tomatoes. Inter-plant migration of leaffooted bugs between trap crops extended the effectiveness of the overall system. Insecticide treatment of sorghum at peak leaffooted bug activity provided 78 to 100% control of the pest without the need for treating the main crop.
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