Trap crops for managing stink and leaf-footed bugs of peaches in Alabama

Hemipteran insect pests like leaf-footed bugs Leptoglossus phyllopus, brown stink bugs Euchistus servus and green stink bugs Nezera viridula are important pests of a wide range of fruit and vegetable crops in the southeastern United States. The increasing adoption of post-FQPA regulations for many fruit crops combined with renewed interest in organic agriculture in much of the southeast, have made it necessary to evaluate other alternate pest management tools such as trap crops to manage these emerging pests. Field studies were conducted in central Alabama during winter and summer of 2011 and 2012 to evaluate different trap crops for their potential use for managing these pests in peaches. The winter trap crops are oats, winter peas, rye, hairy vetch, wheat and triticale. The results in both seasons and years showed that trap crops can be used to manage stink and leaf-footed bugs in peaches. Over 95% of all hemipteran insects recorded were L. phyllopus. The brown stink bug E. servus was the most abundant species of all pentatomid stink bugs recorded.