scholarly journals Living on the Edge: Using and Improving Trap Crops for Flea Beetle Management in Small-Scale Cropping Systems

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 286
Author(s):  
David George ◽  
Gordon Port ◽  
Rosemary Collier
Keyword(s):  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Trap Crop ◽  
Turnip Rape ◽  
Trap Crops ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Main Crop ◽  
Beetle Damage ◽  
Companion Plants

The use of trap crops to manage pest insects offers an attractive alternative to synthetic pesticides. Trap crops may work particularly well at smaller production scales, being highly amenable where crop diversification and reduction of synthetic inputs are prioritised over yield alone. This paper describes a series of experiments. The first was to demonstrate the potential of turnip rape (Brassica rapa L., var. Pasja) as a trap crop to arrest flea beetles (Phyllotreta spp.) to protect a main crop of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L., var. Lateman). The subsequent experiments explored two possible approaches to improve the function of the trap crop—either by separating trap and main crop plants spatially, or by introducing companion plants of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv Amateur) into the main crop. In caged field experiments, feeding damage by flea beetles to crop border plantings of turnip rape far exceeded damage to cauliflower plants placed in the same position, indicating a “trap crop effect”. Neither turnip rape plants nor cauliflower as a border significantly reduced flea beetle damage to main crop cauliflower plants, although the numbers of feeding holes in these plants were lowest where a turnip rape border was used. In similar cages, leaving gaps of 3–6 m of bare soil between turnip rape and cauliflower plants significantly reduced feeding damage to the latter, as compared to when plants were adjacent. The results of a small-scale open field trial showed that a turnip rape trap crop alone reduced flea beetle damage to cauliflower, significantly so later in the season at higher pest pressures, but that addition of tomato companion plants did not improve pest control potential.

WOUND-INDUCED ANTIXENOTIC RESISTANCE TO FLEA BEETLES, PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (GOEZE) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE), IN CRUCIFERS

1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
R.J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Sinapis Alba ◽  
Plastic Film ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Similar Extent ◽  
Mechanical Wounding ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Beetle Damage

AbstractLaboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of wounding the cotyledons of Sinapis alba L. cv. Ochre, Brassica napus L. cv. Westar, B. rapa L. cv. Tobin, and C8711, a selection from Tobin, on subsequent feeding damage by the flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). Cotyledons of 7-day-old seedlings were wounded either by puncturing them with needles (mechanical wounding) or by exposing them to flea beetles. One, 2, or 9 days following wounding, the wounded and unwounded seedlings were exposed to flea beetles and the feeding damage was estimated as a measure of antixenosis. Mechanical wounding of one of the cotyledons with 96 needle punctures induced a significant reduction in the damage of the unwounded cotyledons of S. alba, 1 or 2 days following wounding. True leaves of the wounded seedlings also showed consistently less damage than unwounded controls, 9 days following wounding. In S. alba, all three levels of mechanical wounding (i.e. 6, 24, or 96 punctures per cotyledon) reduced subsequent flea beetle damage to a similar extent. Wrapping a cotyledon of S. alba with a plastic film produced an effect similar to wounding it with needles. As with mechanical wounding, flea beetle wounding also reduced subsequent flea beetle damage in S. alba. Other plant species (B. napus and B. rapa) tested showed no measurable induced effects on subsequent feeding damage.

HAIRS PROTECT PODS OF MUSTARD (BRASSICA HIRTA ’GISILBA’) FROM FLEA BEETLE FEEDING DAMAGE

1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1439-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. LAMB
Keyword(s):  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Brassica Hirta ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Beetle Damage

Pods of the mustard Brassica hirta ’Gisilba’, which have stiff hairs, showed no significant flea beetle damage, while adjacent rapeseed plots showed heavy pod damage. Removal of hairs from mustard pods caused an increase in feeding damage by the flea beetles. Breeding for pod hairiness in rapeseed may reduce pod damage caused by this pest to an insignificant level.

Effects of seed size and seed weight on seedling establishment, seedling vigour and tolerance of summer turnip rape (Brassica rapa) to flea beetles, Phyllotreta spp.

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Elliott ◽  
L. W. Mann ◽  
O. O. Olfert
Keyword(s):  
Seed Size ◽  
Brassica Rapa ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Seed Weight ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Seedling Vigour ◽  
Shoot Dry Weight ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Beetle Damage

A 3-yr study was conducted on three synthetic Brassica rapa L. cultivars to determine the effects of seed size and seed weight on seedling establishment, seedling growth and susceptibility to feeding damage by flea beetles, Phyllotreta spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Seed lots of AC Boreal, Fairview and Hysyn 110 were sieved to obtain small, medium and large seeds (1.4–1.6, 1.6–1.8 and 1.8–2.0 mm, respectively). In the laboratory, seedlings grown from large seeds had the largest cotyledons, highest shoot dry weight and highest biomass. Shoot weights increased as seed size increased. Sized seeds of the three cultivars were grown in the field without insecticides in 1998–2000. Seedlings of small seeds had the highest flea beetle damage and poorest seedling establishment. Shoot dry weight and biomass 14–35 d after planting increased as seed size and seed weight increased. Compared with small seeds, large seeds improved shoot dry weight, biomass and seed yield by 13–43, 25–57 and 12%, respectively. Results indicated that seedlings of medium and large seeds are more vigorous and tolerant to flea beetle damage than seedlings of small seeds. Tolerance was due to a higher initial seedling weight rather than higher relative growth rate. Shoot dry weights, biomass and yield of the three cultivars were more strongly correlated with 1000-seed weight than with seed diameter. Key words: Canola, flea beetles, seed size, seedling vigour, tolerance, seed weight

A SELECTION OF OILSEED RAPE, BRASSICA RAPA L., WITH RESISTANCE TO FLEA BEETLES, PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (GOEZE) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Lamb ◽  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
K.A. Pivnick ◽  
M.A.H. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Brassica Rapa ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Cotyledon Stage ◽  
Small Seed ◽  
Incomplete Resistance ◽  
Beetle Damage ◽  
Field Plots ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractFive cycles of single-plant and progeny-row selection in lines derived from Brassica rapa L. "Tobin" were used to identify plants with incomplete resistance to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). This line, called C8711, had higher survival, grew larger, and yielded more seed than Tobin when the two lines were compared in field plots at Glenlea, Manitoba, unprotected by insecticide. C8711 without insecticide yielded more seed than Tobin treated with a lindane seed dressing, but less than Tobin treated with carbofuran granules. With carbofuran, which prevents most flea beetle damage, the yield of C8711 was 35% higher than for Tobin. At Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the differences between C8711 and Tobin were not statistically significant, although the trends were similar to those at Glenlea. C8711 was late maturing, produced small seed, and was not of canola quality. The resistance in C8711 is attributed to a low level of antixenosis, rapid growth at the cotyledon stage, and tolerance to damage during the first 3–4 weeks of growth.

scholarly journals Implementation of Brassica spp. as Trap Crops and as Beneficial Insectaries for Caterpillar Management in Cabbage Ecosystems

HortScience ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 827E-827
Author(s):  
Joseph DeFrank ◽  
G.C. Luther ◽  
H. Valenzuela
Keyword(s):  
Sweet Corn ◽  
Indian Mustard ◽  
Trap Crop ◽  
Trap Crops ◽  
White Rust ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Main Crop ◽  
Brassica Spp ◽  
Mustard Crop ◽  
Head Cabbage

Experiments conducted over 3 years have determined the potential of utilizing Indian mustard and `Tastie' head cabbage multi-species borders as trap crops for management of caterpillar pests of head cabbage in Hawaii. `Scorpio', a cultivar that showed less feeding damage than `Tastie', was used as the main crop. The studies point toward the use of isolated patches of multi-species attractant crops separated from the main crop by a buffer of non-host crops such as sweet corn. A sweet corn buffer was effective in preventing insect movement between plots. Initial studies showed the high susceptibility of Indian mustard to white rust (Albugo candida), to be a constraint to its use as a trap crop. Follow-up studies found that `Excel' and `Parkland' mustards may be adequate substitutes for mustard crop due to their attraction of caterpillars and their tolerance to white rust. Gradient experiments conducted on 60 × 30-m plots indicate that the trap crop may be effective for a distance of 25 to 30 m in terms of attraction of caterpillars and dispersal of beneficials into the main crop. A record was also made of growth, flowering patterns, and of beneficials hosted by 12 different Brassica cultivars during the winter and spring growing seasons.

ASSESSING THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF CRUCIFER SEEDLINGS TO FLEA BEETLE (Phyllotreta spp.) DAMAGE

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. LAMB
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Pest Resistance ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Phyllotreta Striolata ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Beetle Damage

A 5-yr field study to develop a method for assessing the susceptibility of crucifer seedlings to damage by the flea beetles Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) and Phyllotreta striolata (F.) is described. The recommended method consisted of five replicate 5-m rows per cultivar in a randomized complete-block design. Each test was sown three times at weekly intervals, to assure that at least one test received an appropriate level of flea beetle damage. Each test was assessed 4–5 wk after seeding by counting the number of surviving seedlings in each row and by weighing the dried aboveground portion of 10 randomly selected seedlings, although the latter discriminated fewer lines. The damage caused by flea beetles varied spatially, but this source of variation was minor and did not compromise the tests. This method proved adequate for discriminating among crucifer species and agronomically similar cultivars, some of which showed consistent, significant differences in their responses to flea beettle damage.Key words: Crucifer, rapeseed, flea beetle, pest resistance

Laboratory studies of the toxicity of spinosad and deltamethrin to Phyllotreta cruciferae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

2007 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.H. Elliott ◽  
M.C. Benjamin ◽  
C. Gillott
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Ionic Surfactant ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Oral Toxicity ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Crucifer Flea Beetle ◽  
Delayed Mortality

AbstractLaboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the contact and oral toxicity of commercial formulations of spinosad and deltamethrin to adults of the crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). Method of exposure had a significant effect on flea beetle mortality and feeding damage to canola seedlings. Topical treatment of flea beetles with deltamethrin or different concentrations of spinosad resulted in significantly lower mortality and higher feeding damage than exposure to treated canola cotyledons. Results indicated that spinosad was more toxic by ingestion than by topical contact. Mortality from treated cotyledons was significantly higher with 60 ppm deltamethrin than with 80 or 120 ppm spinosad after 24 h exposure but not after 120 h exposure. Delayed mortality in the spinosad treatments did not result in high feeding damage; damage after 120 h was not significantly different in the spinosad and deltamethrin treatments. Low concentrations of spinosad (40 ppm) strongly inhibited feeding activity within 24 h after exposure. Mortality from spinosad was higher after beetles were exposed to treated cotyledons for 120 h than for 24 h. Mortality from spinosad, but not deltamethrin, was significantly higher at 25 °C than at 15 °C. An ionic surfactant, polyethylenimine, increased the toxicity of 40 ppm spinosad. Our study suggests that spinosad has potential for use as an insecticide against crucifer flea beetles on canola.

YIELD LOSSES IN CANOLA CAUSED BY ADULT AND LARVAL FLEA BEETLES, PHYLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.K. Bracken ◽  
G.E. Bucher
Keyword(s):  
Yield Loss ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Soil Core ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Yield Losses ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Field Plots ◽  
Effect Of Feeding ◽  
Adult Flea

AbstractThe temporal aspects of the effect of feeding damage to canola seedlings by adult flea beetles on yield were determined by protecting plants in 0.836-m2 field plots from beetle attack with screen cages for varying periods. Yield was reduced most when plants were damaged during stages 1.0–2.2, 5–10 days after germination, but was not reduced when they were damaged after reaching stages 2.3–2.4, 20 days after germination. Plots exposed to attack for periods greater than 5 days before protection had smaller yields and fewer plants than plots protected from the time of germination for 5 or more days before exposure to flea beetle attack. Yield losses caused by larvae were measured by growing plants inside field cages to stage 2.3–2.4 before exposing them to feral adults to establish larval populations; yields of plots treated subsequently with drenches of carbofuran to kill larvae were then compared with yields of untreated plots. A yield loss of 5% was observed at larval densities of 0.16/cm2, estimated from soil core samples and captures of adults in emergence cages. The results confirm that continuous protection of canola during and after germination is superior to post-germination protection and suggest that activities of flea beetle larvae reduce yield.

Importance of tolerance and growth rate in the resistance of oilseed rapes and mustards to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Brandt ◽  
R. J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Brassica Juncea ◽  
Brassica Rapa ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Flea Beetles

The resistance of oilseed rapes and mustards to crucifer flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), is known to vary, and tolerance to feeding damage may be a factor in the resistance shown by two of the species. The tolerance of Brassica juncea L., Brassica napus L., Brassica rapa L. and Sinapis alba L. was compared in field and laboratory studies. The growth rates of damaged and undamaged plants were measured at four early growth stages, and the level of antixenosis was determined to ascertain the relative importance of tolerance and antixenosis and the relationship between tolerance and growth rate. Antixenosis was confirmed to be a factor in the resistance of S. alba, but this species also proved to be most tolerant of feeding damage and showed rapid compensatory growth at three early growth stages. Brassica juncea showed no antixenosis, but it was tolerant of damage particularly at germination, the cotyledon stage, and the first true leaf stages, which probably accounts for its resistance to moderate flea beetle damage. Brassica rapa showed only a very low level of tolerance, and B. napus was intolerant of damage at all four growth stages. The level of tolerance was species specific and growth-stage specific and was not related to the rates of growth of the species. Key words: Insecta, antixenosis, canola, crucifer flea beetles

RESISTANCE TO THE FLEA BEETLE PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) IN FALSE FLAX, CAMELINA SATIVA (BRASSICACEAE)

1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palaniswamy Pachagounder ◽  
Robert J. Lamb ◽  
Robert P. Bodnaryk
Keyword(s):  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Camelina Sativa ◽  
Oilseed Crop ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Phyllotreta Cruciferae ◽  
Flea Beetles ◽  
False Flax ◽  
Crucifer Flea Beetle ◽  
Natural Infestation ◽  
High Level

AbstractFeeding damage by the crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), was assessed on 51 accessions of false flax, Camelina sativa L., and compared with damage to seven other crucifer species. Three experiments were conducted on seedlings in laboratory arenas infested with field-collected beetles. Feeding damage was estimated visually at daily intervals for up to 7 days. Natural infestation of false flax and other crucifers was observed in the field. Flea beetles fed little (0–10% consumption) on cotyledons or true leaves of any of the false flax accessions, and fed more (59–100% consumption) on the other crucifers. Flea beetles were observed sitting on false flax in the field, sometimes in high numbers, but they did not feed. In the laboratory, beetles eventually fed on cotyledons and leaves and once feeding was initiated, it tended to continue. Resistance in false flax may result from the absence of cues that initiate feeding, rather than a feeding deterrent. The high level of resistance in false flax would likely be economically beneficial if this species is developed as an oilseed crop. False flax could also be useful experimentally for identifying the cues that attract flea beetles to plants and stimulate their feeding.

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