Cucumber Beetle Management Using Seed Treatments

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Cucumber Beetle Management Using Seed Treatments
January 20, 2008
Brian A. Nault Associate Professor
Department of Entomology Cornell University New
York State Agric. Exp. Stn. 630 W. North
Street Geneva, NY
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Spotted and Striped Cucumber Beetles

• Identification
• Adults are 8-10 mm in
• length and 3-4 mm wide
• Spotted cucumber beetle,
• Diabrotica undecimpunctata
• Striped cucumber beetle,
• Acalymma vittatum

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Striped cucumber beetle(Acalymma vittatum)

• Lifecycle
• Overwinters as an
• adult in protected
• areas and becomes
• active in early spring
• Lays eggs at base of
• host plant two
• generations per year

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Adult Activity
April May June July
Aug Sept Oct
Cucumber Beetles
April May June July
Aug Sept Oct
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Types of Cucumber Beetle Damage
Defoliation
Pollination interference
Feeding scars
Rindworms
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Bacterial Wilt Disease
C. Welty
Causal Organism - Erwinia tracheiphila, which is
transmitted by cucumber beetle adults
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Cucumber Beetles - Bacterial Wilt

• Worst damage caused by
• bacterial wilt, not beetle
• damage
• Diagnosed by cutting stem
• and looking for stringy sap
• No cure for controlling
• bacteria must control vector
• Beetle may not be present
• during wilting
• Susceptibility of crop to wilt
• Melons gt cucumbers gt squash gt watermelon

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General Approaches Taken to Manage Cucumber
Beetles
Chemical Control
Behavioral Control
Plant Resistance
Managing Cucumber Beetles
Cultural Control
Biological Control
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Chemical Control

• Foliar Sprays

• - Sampling activity with yellow sticky traps
• - Established thresholds (direct counts on
  plants)
• - 1 beetle / plant for melons, cucumbers, and
• young pumpkins
• - 5 beetles / plant for watermelon,
• squash, and older pumpkins

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Chemical Control

• At-plant Treatments
• - Apply in-furrow or via drip irrigation
• - Drench transplants e.g., 4
  ml (0.14 oz) of Admire diluted in water to treat
  a flat of 200 plants

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Chemical Control

• Seed Treatments
• - thiamethoxam - Cruiser 5FS
• - FarMore
  DI-400
• - clothianidin imidacloprid - Sepresto
• (registration package submitted summer 2008)

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Collaborative Effort to Evaluate Seed Treatments

• Researchers
• New York Alan Taylor, Brian Nault,
• Robert Hadad Charles
  Bornt
• Ohio Celeste Welty
• Maryland - Jerry Brust
• Virginia Thomas Kuhar
• Delaware Joanne Whalen
• IR- 4 Project - Keith Dorschner

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Objective

• Evaluate neonicotinoid seed treatments for
  early-season cucumber beetle control in cucumber
  and pumpkin

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Treatments

• Seed Treatments
• Cruiser 5FS _at_ 0.75 mg ai/seed
• Sepresto _at_ 1 mg ai/seed
• Admire Pro _at_ 1 fl oz of Admire Pro mixed with
• 1 fl oz of water to treat 1 lb of seeds
• At-plant Treatments
• Admire Pro _at_ 7 fl oz/acre
• Platinum _at_ 8 fl oz/acre
• Crops
• cucumber (var. Vlaspik)
• pumpkin (var. Gladiator)

Not labeled in New York
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Approach

• In the field Visually record number of
• dead beetles per 10 plants per plot each week for
  5 weeks (NY)

In the lab Sample foliage from field plots and
conduct assays in laboratory to assess beetle
mortality (NY, VA and DE)
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Total Mean Number of Dead Beetles per 10 plants
over 5-Week Period in the Cucumber Field Eden,
NY 2008
a
a
b
b
Number of Dead Beetles/ 10 plants
R. Hadad - 2008
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Laboratory Assay
Stage of Plant Sampled

• 10 beetles per dish (NY) 5 beetles per dish (VA
  DE)
• 2-, 4- and 7-leaf stage (NY) 4-leaf stage (VA
  DE)
• Record dead at 72 hr (NY) and 96 hr (VA DE)

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Mortality (after 72 hr) on Excised Pumpkin Leaves
Collected from Field Plots Geneva, NY 2008
a
b
ab
b
b
c
Beetle Mortality ()
B. Nault - 2008
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Mortality (after 72 hr) on Excised Pumpkin Leaves
Collected from Field Plots Geneva, NY 2008
b
c
b
a
c
c
Beetle Mortality ()
B. Nault - 2008
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Mortality (after 72 hr) on Excised Pumpkin Leaves
Collected from Field Plots Geneva, NY 2008
ab
c
a
bc
c
bc
Beetle Mortality ()
B. Nault - 2008
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Mortality (after 96 hr) on Excised Cucumber
Leaves Collected from Field Plots Painter, VA
2008
a
a
b
b
b
Beetle Mortality ()
T. Kuhar - 2008
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Mortality (after 96 hr) on Excised Cucumber
Leaves Collected from Field Plots Georgetown,
DE 2008
a
a
a
a
b
Beetle Mortality ()
J. Whalon - 2008
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Summary

• Cruiser and Sepresto seed treatments had similar
  or better activity against cucumber beetle than
  Admire and Platinum at-plant treatments
• Efficacy of Cruiser and Sepresto seed treatments
  did not extend beyond 4-leaf stage (20 to 26 days
  after planting)

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Benefits of Seed Treatments

• Saves time just plant treated seed
• Less exposure to active ingredient (a.i.)
• Precise amount of a.i. applied to seed
• Often use considerably less a.i. per acre
• Less risk of killing non-target organisms

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Future Work

• Repeat study in 2009 more on-farm trials with
  extension educators
• Potentially assess efficacy of Cruiser 5FS/
  Farmore DI 400 and Sepresto on other insect pests

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Acknowledgements

• Collaborators
• Alan Taylor, Robert Hadad, Tom Kuhar, Joanne
  
• Whalon
• Technical Assistance
• Mary Lou Hessney (Entomology, NYSAES)
• Grower
• Laura Pedersen (Geneva, NY)
• Funding
• IR-4 Project
• Federal Formula Funds

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The End?