Canola is grown on approximately 1.3M acres in North Dakota representing approximately 89% of the total canola acres grown in the U.S. An entire canola crop can be lost to the adult crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae, which feed on newly emerged seedlings during May and June. Insecticide treated seed is planted as a prophylactic treatment on most of the canola acreages, regardless of a potential flea beetle population. An IPM approach to managing the crucifer flea beetle would facilitate the reduction of chemical insecticides in canola production. We are interested in evaluating biorational insecticides as components of IPM for P. cruciferae. Field studies were conducted during 2001 to 2003 to evaluate the effect of the biorational insecticides Spintor® (spinosad), BotaniGard® (Beauveria bassiana), Neemix® (azadirachtin), and Surround® (kaolin) against the crucifer flea beetle at the cotyledon stage of canola. The biorational treatments were compared to a standard foliar chemical insecticide Capture® (bifenthrin) and the chemical insecticide seed treatment Helix Xtra® (thiamethoxam). Flea beetle injury and yield were compared amongst treatments. Among the biorational insecticides, Spintor showed the best efficacy against the crucifer flea beetle. At 14 days post treatment (DPT), flea beetle feeding injury was significantly less in the Spintor treatments compared to the other biorational insecticide treatments, but significantly higher when compared to the Capture. Spintor and Capture resulted in higher yields compared to the other treatments, and the yields between the Spintor treatments and Capture were not significantly different.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Phyllotreta cruciferae (crucifer flea beetle)
Keywords: biorational pesticides
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