Black cutworms (BCW), Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), are destructive insects, particularly on golf course putting greens. Damage can occur any time from late April through late September. Feeding of the larval stage causes sunken pock-marks or suppressions on putting greens, subsequently resulting a reduction of uniformity and smoothness of playing surface. Creeping bentgrass is the major host of BCW. Kentucky bluegrass has shown resistance to BCW. However, few studies have been conducted on the resistant turfgrass species against BCW.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different turfgrass species on survival and growth rate of BCW larvae. Nine different turfgrass species or cultivars, creeping bentgrass, creeping bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, two annual bluegrass cultivars, perennial ryegrass, Poa supina, and two Texas bluegrass cultivars, were used for this research. BCW larvae were fed grass clippings of each species or cultivars until pupation. BCW larvae were kept in petridish and stored in growth chamber at 24±1.0°C. Larval weight and survival rate of BCW were measured.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Agrotis ipsilon (black cutworm)
Keywords: creeping bentgrass, resistance
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