An experiment was conducted during the 2001 and 2003 growing seasons to evaluate the effectiveness of combining trap cropping with reduced area (perimeter treatment) insecticide treatment as an integrated program for managing populations of the sugarbeet root maggot, Tetanops myopaeformis (Röder). The experiment involved establishing strips of sugarbeet along the outside perimeter of previous-year sugarbeet fields (spring wheat in current year) to arrest newly emerged adults from dispersing to mate or search for oviposition sites in current-year beet fields.
Data from 2001 indicate that the trap crop reduced female movement into current-year beets during two weeks of high fly activity that included the peak oviposition period. Similar trends were observed with males, although significance was restricted to the third week of high fly activity. A slight trend toward lower feeding injury in current-year sugarbeets adjacent to the trap crop was observed, but the difference was not significant. Further study will be necessary to adequately determine the pest management potential of this integrated approach for protecting sugarbeet fields from T. myopaeformis injury. Additional data from 2003 will be presented.
Species 1: Diptera Otitidae Tetanops myopaeformis (Sugarbeet root maggot)
Keywords: integrated control, trap crop
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