Attract & kill: Using sorghum, sunflowers and pheromone lures for organic management of brown marmorated stink bug

This experiment examined the use of a trap crop plot in conjunction with pheromone lures and organic pesticide applications for control of the invasive pest, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) (Halyomorpha halys) on organic farms.  For conventional farmers there are many synthetic pesticides that have the ability to control BMSB populations, which organic farmers cannot use.  There are not currently many management techniques for BMSB available to the organic farmers, and many have suffered significant economic loss of their crops as a result.  It is necessary that efficacious control tactics are determined for organic farmers and that these tactics can be easily implemented and managed. The experimental design for this experiment was composed of 2m² blocks of alternating rows of organic pollenless sunflowers and organic sorghum; from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Blue River Hybrids Organic Seed, respectively.  Seed rates used for these plots were 50lb/acre of sorghum broadcast in a 2-3 inch swath and 10lb/acre of sunflowers planted at 6.5” seed spacing.  Sorghum and sunflowers were chosen for this experiment based on research conducted for the Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) grant, part of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (grant #2012-51300-20097). Once the trap crops began to head and bloom, pheromone lures (MDT and BMSB #20) were placed in the center of the plot to increase the attractiveness.  Azera, an organic pesticide with the active ingredients Azadirachtin (1.20%) and Pyrethrins (1.40%), was applied at a rate of 2 pints per acre for each 2m² trap plot.  These applications were repeated on a weekly basis towards the end of the season when the BMSB populations were found to be highest. Percent mortality was determined based on pre-spray and post-spray counts of alive and dead BMSB in the trap plots.

KEY WORDS organic, Azera, Halyomorpha halys, trap crop, pheromone lures