A total of 40 Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) strains isolated from past and current epidemics of kiwifruit bacterial canker worldwide were compared using repetitive-sequence PCR (rep-PCR) fingerprinting with BOX, ERIC and REP primer sets. The strains were also assessed for the presence of 23 type III secretion system effector genes, tolerance to sodium arsenite, the presence of coro…
Invasive animal pests have a wide variety of impacts on the economy, the environment and society. There is considerable information on these impacts for individual cases and regions, and McLeod (2004) attempted to value them nationwide for a whole range of pest animals. However, there appear to be no Australia-wide estimates of agricultural losses measured with the economist’s concept of …
Rice planthoppers are developing resistance to insecticides very rapidly. Publications by several authors have reported that the brown planthopper (BPH) has acquired as much as 1,000-fold resistance to imidacloprid in some areas in China. High resistance to fipronil, fenobucarb, and buprofezin has also been reported. However, the methods used by different authors differ signifi cantly, ther…
ABSTRACT. Noctua pronuba (L.) is one of the most common Noctuid moths in Europe. The first moths collected in North America were found in Nova Scotia in 1979, and this species has since spread across Canada and the United States. N. pronuba caterpillars, sometimes called winter cutworms, are cold tolerant and remain active during the winter months in the northern part of its range. N. pronuba…
ABSTRACT. Orchardgrass, Dactylis glomerata L. (Cyperales: Poaceae), is a cool season grass, cultivated throughout the United States as a high-value forage crop. Larval feeding by two weevil species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the bluegrass billbug, Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal, and the hunting billbug, Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Chittenden, has caused widespread economic damage to orch…
ABSTRACT. The western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a native North American pest that feeds mainly on corn and dry beans. The historical geographic range of the western bean cutworm covered the western Great Plains states, including Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Since 1999, the geographic range of the western bean cutworm has rapidly expanded eastw…
ABSTRACT. In October 2009, large aggregations of Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae) were discovered on outside, perimeter walls of houses in northeast Georgia, prompting homeowners to contact county Extension agents and pest management professionals to learn more about the insect and to rid the premises of the nuisance. The insect was flying from nearby patches of kudzu (Puer…
ABSTRACT. Mint root borer, Fumibotys fumalis (Guene´ e), larvae cause damage to peppermint by feeding on rhizomes belowground. This species can cause significant economic damage and occurs throughout all peppermint-growing regions in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Until 2009, managing economic populations was limited to fall or spring tilling, and postharvest application of the o…
ABSTRACT. An invasive stink bug, Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), was discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 2008 near Los Angeles, CA, presumably introduced on container shipments arriving at the Port of Long Beach. In the subsequent 4 years, it has spread throughout southern California, southern areas of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, southern and west–central New Mexi…