Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Ayanava Majumdar

Extension Entomologist

& Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator

September 27, 2011

Vegetable Research Updates

In February 2011, you may have read a short introductory article about trap cropping for insect management; this is a more in-depth article reporting some highlights from vegetable entomology research completed this year in Alabama. Grasshoppers and flea beetles are some common early season pests that consistently reduce crop establishment and yields. Stink bugs and leaffooted bugs are a rising menace across the fruit and vegetable production areas of the State, and conventional synthetic insecticides only provide short-term control of the pests. The attached picture shows the unevenly-ripened tomatoes that have been heavily attacked by those bugs (green ‘islands’ in between red normal coloration is caused by needle-like mouthparts of the bugs). Therefore, commercial and backyard vegetable producers have to think ‘outside the box’ when it comes to leaffooted bug/stink bug management.

In one trap cropping study completed at Brewton (AL) in 2011, where double rows of forage sorghum (NK300) was planted as a perimeter trap crop, observations indicated that this early-planted sorghum trap crop is highly attractive to leaffooted bugs when the trap crop is in the soft dough stage. The bugs congregate on the sorghum head or panicle to feed and mate; the sorghum leaves serve as a perfect landing spot that keeps the leaffooted bugs from flying away. The tomato main crop, that was planted about 9 feet away from the trap crop, was completely spared by the insect. Once the insect concentrate on the trap crop, it is necessary to control the pest there before they move on or find the main crop. Therefore, the sorghum heads were sprayed with esfenvalerate (Asana) and cyfluthrin (Baythroid) to kill the arriving leaffooted bugs. If the insects are not controlled on the trap crop, then this production system can cause more problems. On a Vegetable Production Field Day held on August 30th, several small and large vegetable producers and vegetable gardeners had the opportunity to see the trap cropping system in action. If you get an opportunity to attend an Extension event in the future, then participate to learn more about the latest agricultural technologies. All events are free to the public.

This year, the Baldwin County Master Gardeners also initiated a trap crop study at the Gulf Coast Research Center (Fairhope) with okra and bell pepper trap crops planted along the perimeter of the garden. The main crops were tomatoes and bell peppers that were planted three weeks after the trap crops were transplanted. Results indicate that both early planted trap crops were very attractive for grasshoppers and flea beetles that normally destroy tomato transplants in a dry year (e.g., 2010 and 2011). Thus, this is a case where trap crops are taken as a ‘sacrificial crop’ and the slight production loss is compensated by the higher quality of the main crop. In this small study, the trap crops only were treated with contact insecticides (weekly spray of carbaryl or Sevin, permethrin, neem botanical insecticide from May to June) to contain the early-season insect attack while the main crops were not treated with those chemical treatments to save cost. This is one of the advantages of trap cropping that reduces usage of expensive insecticides, but note that fast-acting insecticides are still needed in a trap cropping system. Organic vegetable producers (small or large-scale) still do not have reliable products for stink bug/leaffooted bug control and they may have to resort to mechanical insect collection methods to remove insects from trap crops.

Research suggested that growers should not devote more that 20% of the total production area to trap crops. Several trap crops can be planted together or staggered for year-round insect control benefits. If done correctly over several years, the trap cropping system appears to provide an environment friendly way to reduce insect menace in the long-term. Commercial fruit and vegetable producers in the Mobile, Baldwin or the neighboring counties interested in trap cropping should contact me at azm0024@aces.edu  to design a trap cropping system that is consistent with your pest management needs. For getting more information regarding entomological research and Extension news from Auburn University, please join the Alabama Vegetable IPM page on Facebook and participate in a new interactive learning experience.

Organic Workshop Planned for Oct. 28-29

There will be a statewide organic farming workshop at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in Tuskegee on Oct. 28-29. Goals of the workshop are to educate public about sustainable agriculture research and education programs across institutions and to identify barriers to the adoption of organic farming in Alabama. There will be a number of research, Extension and farmer panel discussions along with useful updates regarding organic producer associations from various states and produce marketing. Pre-registration information is posted on the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network website.

Email address: azm0024@auburn.edu

Phone: 937-7176 or 943-5061, ext. 2222

Baldwin County Extension Programs are supported by the Baldwin County Commission.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.