Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: Hairy Vetch Thwarts Colorado Potato Beetle (fwd)

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: robert schuler <sunnfarm AT bellatlantic.net>
  • To: market farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Hairy Vetch Thwarts Colorado Potato Beetle (fwd)
  • Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 07:51:02 -0400


This study first began in the early 1990's, I am glad to see more
progress with it, CPB prefer to walk to there next meal after emerging
and moving new plantings as far as possible from last season delays
attack, 500 ft gains you about 2 weeks, I have found that a stinky crop
like cabbage 4 rows or more between the old and new planting seems to
deter CPB movement, guys at research farm laughed at this but with
advent of sustainability grant money they pay more attention...
Imidicloprid has reduced the numbers of CPB so low that even folks who
don't use it rarely see this insect which is something unheard off in
this area of large potato and tomato farms...
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton,NJ.


>
> Colorado potato beetles are deceptively beautiful insects, with five shiny
> black stripes on a yellow background decorating each wing. But this beetle
> is notorious for its destructive power. Each year, the Colorado potato
> beetle and its larvae ravage potato, eggplant and tomato plants.
>
> This pest is also notorious for something else: its ability to develop
> resistance to insecticides. Because of this, biocontrol becomes a viable
> option. Biocontrol--the use of one natural organism to control another
> without chemicals--has an important place in farming systems, including
> organic farming.
>
> Agricultural Research Service entomologist Kevin Thorpe and collaborators at
> the University of Maryland have found that an organic mulch made from a
> cover crop called hairy vetch can reduce Colorado potato beetle damage. They
> utilized the method developed by ARS plant physiologists Aref Abdul-Baki and
> John Teasdale, in which hairy vetch is planted in the fall and mowed in the
> spring before transplanting. The vetch impeded the movement of the beetles,
> thereby lessening their damage. The vetch, a legume, also added nitrogen to
> the soil.
>
> In the study, fewer beetles infested tomatoes transplanted into hairy vetch
> mulch, compared to tomatoes transplanted into black plastic mulch. Yields of
> staked, fresh-market tomatoes grown in the vetch mulch were comparable to
> tomatoes treated with insecticides.
>
> The Colorado potato beetle costs U.S. potato, tomato and eggplant growers
> about $150 million annually in losses and insecticide-related costs. Many
> growers are using imadacloprid, a new systemic insecticide that provides
> excellent control. However, unless appropriate measures are taken,
> resistance will develop. Non-insecticidal methods of control could be useful
> components of a sustainable, integrated pest management strategy if they can
> reduce pesticide inputs and slow the rate of resistance.
>
> Thorpe's next step is investigating the use of organic mulches in larger
> fields of staked fresh-market tomatoes grown on a commercial scale. This
> study was undertaken as part of the Sustainable Agriculture program at the
> Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center.
>
> ----------




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page