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  • From: Steve Diver <steved AT ncat.org>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Yellow striped cucumber beetles
  • Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2006 16:47:16 -0500

>In the past week my squash has gone from looking great to looking like
>lace. I must have 50 yellow striped cucumber beetles on each plant. Can
>anyone tell me how you control these pest?


The ATTRA publication reviews an integrated approach to
organic control of cucumber beetle.

Cucumber Beetles: Organic and Biorational IPM
http://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/cucumberbeetle.html

It reviews the trap crop method where you plant
certain cuke varieties that emit greater levels of kairomones,
a type of pheromone that is highly attractive to cuke
beetles.
I've seen data from Oklahoma State University on
trap cropping with cukes, in addition to Illinois, that
shows that these trap crops are very effective.
Of course you need to plan your field plantings
far in advance to lay out border strips with these
pheromone-emitting cuke varieties.
Then you need to spray these trap strips to knock down
the cuke beetles before they devastate the trap crop
and migrate to your main crop of cukes.

That leads to what biorationals really work as a
knock down for cuke beetles.

In organics, you are looking at kaolin clay
or tank combinations of botanicals.
The ATTRA pub includes notes on use of
kaolin clay for cuke beetle.
For example, a tank mix of Pyganic and Neem has worked
well against "flea" beetles for one grower that I know.

Also see the notes from Reggie Destree on foliar feeding
in the ATTRA publication, referring to greatly reduced
cucumber beetle populations by spraying a mixture of
Neem oil and Karanja oil.

In-depth recipes from Reggie Destree found on the
Dramm Liquid Fish website are a dynamic approach
to pest suppression through foliar nutrition. Reggie
presented data at a couple of organic conferences
I attended last winter that showed *greatly* reduced
feeding of aphids on beans by altering plant metabolism
and plant sap chemistry through foliar feeding.

ATTRA can provide a detailed resource list on foliar
fertilization that supports this approach, which people
can request by calling me and providing their mailing
address details.

I'll be curious to hear what you find to be effective
in your cuke patch in Pennsylvania.
Steve Diver
http://www.attra.ncat.org












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