Monitoring and management of brown marmorated stink bug using long-lasting insecticidal netting
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EmailLarry Gut, a professor in the MSU Department of Entomology, is testing the effectiveness of insecticide netting to trap brown marmorated stink bugs.
Researcher: Larry Gut
Awarded: $38,500
Leveraged: $369,287
Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is an emerging invasive pest of the Michigan apple and peach industries. Native to east Asia, BMSB was first detected in the U.S. in the late 1990s and has since become a severe pest of Eastern tree fruit production. In Michigan, BMSB was first detected in Berrien County in 2010. It appears to be well established in the southeast, southwest and west-central fruit production regions. To avoid damage to Golden Delicious and other BMSB-sensitive apple cultivars, especially in southern Michigan and the Fruit Ridge area, growers have been forced to apply insecticides specifically for control of this pest. Stink bug pests are often difficult to monitor and trap effectively due to their high mobility and polyphagous feeding habits. The BMSB aggregation pheromone and a synergist have been identified and formulated into commercially available dual-component lures. However, questions remain about the ideal trap design to employ with this lure. Without good management options, crop losses from BMSB will continue to increase in the coming years, potentially reaching the millions of dollars in lost profits incurred by Michigan apple and peach growers. By developing more sensitive methods of monitoring BMSB, researchers aim to provide growers with an important tool that will allow them to make sound decisions on the need for and timing of insecticide applications, reducing management costs. Saving one insecticide spray on 25% of Michigan’s 37,000 acres of apples results in about a half million dollars in added grower profits.
