In recent years, the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, has surpassed aphids as the most economically important insect pest of California sugarbeets. Each year, increasing numbers of fields in the Fresno County area are succumbing to high levels of late-season defoliation. A successful management plan will require a combination of techniques such as host plant resistance, reduced-risk insecticides, and increased knowledge about the biologies of insect defoliators. This project assessed the contributions of armyworms, mites and leafhoppers to late-season defoliation and evaluated reduced-risk insecticides and varietal selection as parts of a refined IPM system.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Spodoptera exigua (beet armyworm)
Species 2: Hemiptera Cicadellidae Empoasca (Empoasca leafhopper)
Species 3: Acari Tetranychidae Tetranychus urticae (twospotted spider mite)
Keywords: defoliation
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA