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Common Insect Pests of Potatoes in Utah
- 1. Dr. Jeff Miller & Nick Volesky Common Pests of Potatoes in Utah Vegetable IPM Winter Webinar Series 1/20/21 Karen Family Farms (Cache County)
- 2. Nick Volesky Common Insect Pests of Potato Crops in Utah
- 3. Colorado Potato Beetle Colorado Potato Beetle Adult Colorado Potato Beetle Larva CPB Eggs Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae Colorado Potato Beetle Adults
- 4. Colorado Potato Beetle Management Big-eyed Bugs Damsel Bugs Active Ingredients Product Names pyrethrins Evergreen, Pyganic, Tersus spinosad Conserve, Entrust, Success Burkholderia spp. Venerate Chromobacterium subtsugae Grandevo azadirachtin Aza-Direct, AzaGuard, Azatin, Mold spinetoram Radiant indoxacarb Avaunt tebufenozide Confirm Insecticide Application Assassin Bug
- 5. Aphids Green Peach Aphid (Myzus persicae) Potato Aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) Aphid Damage to Potato Field
- 6. Aphids Aphid Colony on Potato Foliage Aphid Feeding Distortion Aphid Piercing-Sucking Mouthpart
- 7. Cutworms Variegated Cutworm (Peridroma saucia) Black Cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) Western Pale Cutworm (Agrotis orthogonia) Glassy Cutworm (Apamea devastator) Black Cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon)
- 8. Active Ingredients Product Names pyrethrins Evergreen, Pyganic, Tersus Tersus spinosad Conserve, Entrust, Success Success Burkholderia spp. Venerate Chromobacterium subtsugae Grandevo azadirachtin Aza-Direct, AzaGuard, Azatin, Mold spinetoram Radiant indoxacarb Avaunt tebufenozide Confirm Cutworms Management Protective Collar Tilling Soil in the Fall Hand Removal Row Covers Pheromone Traps
- 9. Potato Psyllid Potato Psyllid Adult Potato Psyllid Nymph Potato Psyllid Potato Psyllid Damage to Potato Foliage
- 10. Potato Psyllid Management Active Ingredients Product Names Azadirachtin AzaGuard, Neemix Spincyantraniliproleosad Verimark Burkholderia spp. Venerate Chromobacterium subtsugae Grandevo azadirachtin Aza-Direct, AzaGuard, Azatin, Mold spinetoram Radiant indoxacarb Avaunt tebufenozide Confirm Monitor with Yellow Sticky Traps Regularly Scout Plants Insecticides
- 11. enlarged femoral hind legs chewing mouth part Flea Beetles Flea Beetle Damage to Potato Western Black Flea Beetle Larva Flea Beetle Pupa Palestriped flea beetle (Sestena blanda) Western black flea beetle (Phyllotreta pusilla) Tobacco flea beetle (Epitrix hirtipennis)
- 12. Flea Beetle Management Flea beetle larvae damage on potato Flea beetle damage to potato foliage Monitor by using a tray or white sheet of paper Yellow sticky trap Row covers Flea beetle larvae damage to potato
- 13. Active Ingredients Product Names azadirachtin Azatrol, Ecozin, Molt spinosad Success, Entrust pyrethrin Pyganic Acetamiprid Assail lamba-cyhalothrin Bonide Beetle Killer permethrin BioAdvanced Complete Insect Killer, Bonide Eight cyfluthrin BioAdvanced Vegetable & Garden Insect Spray Flea Beetle Management Parasitoid Wasp (Microctonus vittatae) Big-eyed Bugs Lacewing Larvae Damsel Bug
- 14. Wireworms (Click Beetle) Pacific Coast Wireworm Adult (Limonius canus) Sugar Beet Wireworm Adult (Limonius californicus) Western Field Wireworm Adult (Limonius infuscatus) Columbia Basin Wireworm Adult (Limonius californicus) Great Basin Wireworm Adult (Ctenicera pruinina) Wireworms Wireworm Damage Wireworm Damage
- 15. Active Ingredients Product Names pyrethrins + azadirachtin Azera imidacloprid AmTide, Macho, Malice 2F, Montana 2F, Nuprid 2SC, Widow Wireworm Management Variety Percent Infected AC9531 1% VC1009 1% Cherry Red 3% Ozette 13% Yukon Gold 15% Colorado Rose 16% Austrian Crescent 17% Red LaSoda 17% Satina 20% Mountain Rose 20% Nicola 24% POR01PG22 24% Sangre 27% Huckleberry 28% Jacqueline Lee 30%
- 16. USU Extension – Utah Pests • extension.usu.edu/pests • Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab • Educational How-To Videos • Free Guide eBooks • Informative Fact Sheets • Recorded Webinar Presentations
- 17. Utah Pest Advisories • pestadvisories.usu.edu • Timely email alerts on insects and diseases to look out for. • Fruit Pest Advisories • Vegetables Pest Advisories • Turf Pest Advisories • Landscape Pest Advisories
- 18. Utah Vegetable Production & Pest Management Guide • extension.usu.edu/vegetableguide • FREE PDF Version • Comprehensive Website • usuextension.store.com • Printed Hard Copies ($20)
- 19. Contact Nick Volesky (Vegetable IPM Associate) nick.volesky@usu.edu (435) 797-0319 USU Extension – Utah Pests @utah_pests
- 20. Earn 1 “Pesticide Use” CEU Send an email to dmatthews@utah.gov answer the following questions? Natural predators, parasites, and pathogens are examples of biological Control. Potato psyllids are responsible for spreading the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum. Flea beetles, wireworms, aphids, and Colorado potato beetles are examples of potato pest insects. TRUE or FALSE ? TRUE or FALSE ? TRUE or FALSE ? I can reference the Utah Vegetable Production and Pest Management guide for vegetable production information. TRUE or FALSE ?
Editor's Notes
- INTRODUCTION Welcome everyone! My name is Nick Volesky, and I work for our USU Extension Integrated Pest Management Program. I’m the one coordinating this Vegetable IPM Winter Webinar Series. This year's series will be geared toward Utah's commercial and small urban farmers along with home gardeners. This is will be great information for everyone attending. Tonight’s webinar will specifically cover common diseases and insect pests of onions. • As a reminder; you guys are watching a Zoom webinar. So you will not have access to the camera or microphone. However, please leave comments and questions in the Zoom chat box for our presenters to respond too. • This webinar will be recorded and available on our USU Extension YouTube Channel along with our USU Extension-Utah Pests website. • If you have requested a “Pesticide-Use CEU” for the UDAF Pesticide Applicator’s license, there will be questions at the end of this webinar for you to answer and submit to UDAF for a certificate. I can explain more and help with that at the end. I will now introduce our guest Dr. Jeff Miller. He earned his Bachelor degree in Botany-Biotechnology from Brigham Young University, and Masters and Doctorate degrees in Plant Pathology from Washington State University. He currently is the CEO and President of Miller Research in Rupert Idaho where they conduct residue and efficacy research on pesticides for commercial chemical companies. In addition, they perform contract research for agricultural productions groups such as the Idaho Potato Commission and the Snake River Sugar Association. Dr. Miller is well known in the potato industry, so we are beyond blessed to have him speak to our growers.
- Thank you Dr. Miller! For this portion of the webinar, I’ll be covering some insect pests that you may come across in your potato production in Utah. We will be highlighting some of the more common pests our growers see.
- Colorado Potato Beetle The Colorado potato beetle is a major potato pest throughout North America. Adults Adults become active in spring, about the same time potato plants emerge from the ground. They are oval in shape and 3/8 inch long They are yellow-orange prothorax (the area behind the head) and yellowish white wings covered with 10 narrow black striped Female lay clusters of bright yellowish-orange oval eggs on the underside of leaves Larvae When young larvae fist hatch, they are brick red with black heads Older larvae are pink to salmon colored with black heads All larvae have two rows of dark spots on each side of their bodies Eggs Each adult female can lay up to 350 eggs during her adult life which can last several weeks. Larvae cluster near the egg mass when young but begin to move throughout the plant as they eat the leaves. Larvae can complete development within 10 days if average temperatures are in the mid 80s F while it can take over a month if temperatures average near 60 F. The fourth instar larvae drop from the plant, burrow into the soil and transform into pupae. Old larvae (the last or 4th larval instar) are responsible for as much as 75 percent of feeding damage. (View Photo) Potatoes can usually tolerate up to 30 percent defoliation when they are in the vegetative stage.
- Management If your home gardener and have just a few plants. You can simply pick off the beetles or larvae and put them in a bucket of soapy water. You can crush the orange bright eggs on the foliage. You can encourage natural enemies such as assassin bug, damsel bugs, and big eyed bugs. Unfortunately, these natural enemies usually have little impact on overall Colorado potato beetle numbers. For commercial growers, pesticides are a more practical option. Unfortunately, Colorado potato beetles are resistant to essentially all synthetic pesticides like carbaryl, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, pyrethrins, and more. There are active ingredients like aza-dir-achtin which is a neem oil, there’s also spinsoad which is made from a soil bacterium.
- Aphids There are over 250 species of aphids that are considered pests to agronomic and ornamental crops. Aphids are pear-shaped, soft-bodies insects that suck sap from plant tissues. They are no bigger than 5 millimeters. They have notable tailpipe-like appendages called cornicles at the rear of their bodies. Color and textures range between species. Green Peach Aphid: Very common in Utah, they vector a lot of viruses such as the Potato Leaf Roll Virus and the Potato Virus Y Winter Woody Hosts: Trees in the Prunus genus, particularly peach, apricot, and plum Potato Aphids: Can be green or pink. Also very common in Utah, they can vector the Potato Virus Y and Cucumber Mosaic Virus Winter Woody Hosts: roses
- Most vegetable aphid species have similar life cycles. Most will overwinter as eggs on a woody hosts (tree or shrub). Eggs hatch as all females in the spring. Adults reproduce asexually throughout the summer, then eventually migrate to their overwintering sites. Aphids can contaminate plant parts, leaving them unmarketable. Aphids feed with piercing-sucking mouth parts can cause distorted leaves or spread of viruses. Aphids may also secrete a sticky substance honeydew which can attract mold growth.
- Adult: Moths are brown or dark gray with front wings that have irregular bands or spots and lighter-colored hind wings. Average wingspan ranges from 1¼ to 1½ inches. Egg: Extremely small spherical eggs are white or pale yellow when first laid. Larva: Dull gray to brown caterpillars with black stripes or spots. Up to 2 inches long when full grown. Most cutworms curl into a “C” shape when disturbed. Pupa: Dark brown to orange in color with two spines on one end. Sizes range from ½ to 1 inch long. Cutworms overwinter as larvae in the soil or under plant debris. In the spring, larvae become active and begin to feed on roots and plant stems. Larvae then pupate in the soil and emerge as adults. Female moths lay eggs on the undersides of leaves and hatched larvae feed on plant foliage, and then pupate in the soil.
- Mix of control options for both home and commercial growers: Keep crop area weed-free (especially grassy weeds). Till in the fall. Application of insecticides; Bt and spinosad are effective on young caterpillars. Remove cool-season weeds along field edges (e.g. lambsquarters and wild mustards). Fall tillage can help destroy or expose overwintering pupae. Focus on fields with an early season weed infestation, and those planted late. Protect seedlings with cardboard collars. For black cutworms, use pheromone traps. A threshold of 2 black cutworm moths per trap per day indicates significant egg-laying pressure. Increase field scouting efforts during crop emergence when threshold numbers are met or exceeded.
- Adult: Less than 1/8 inch long with clear wings that rest like a tent over the body. Related to aphids and leafhoppers, and resemble small cicadas. Black in color with white markings and a white inverted “V” on the back. Readily jump when disturbed. Egg: Extremely small (just larger than potato leaf hairs), foot-ball shaped eggs are orange to yellow in color, supported individually by a short stalk, and laid in the upper canopy of plants on the undersides and edges of leaves. Nymph: Flat, green and yellow, and have spooky red eyes, and an oval-shaped body with spines around the edge. Nymphs resemble immature soft scale insects or whiteflies but differ in that they readily move when disturbed. Potato psyllids do not overwinter in northern Utah; they migrate north on air currents from warmer areas. Psyllid population dynamics and dispersal are greatly dependent on temperatures. Movement and dispersal increases at or above 92°F. Adult potato psyllids vector the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, that causes Zebra chip disease (ZC). ZC significantly impacts potato production. Adults and nymphs acquire the bacterium by feeding on an infected plant, and will carry the bacterium for the rest of their life.
- Unfortunately, there are no good effective non-chemical control options for the potato psyllids. Monitoring using yellow sticky cards and visually inspect the leaves for eggs and nymphs. If potato psyllids have caused Zebra chip disease or psyllid yellows in past years, or if nearby fields are experiencing these problems, several insecticide applications may be required to reduce psyllid populations.
- Flea beetles are common and very problematic in Utah. You will find them in late spring and early summer Flea beetle adults typically range from 1.7 to 4.2 mm long. They have enlarged femoral hind legs which allow them to jump (where they get the name “flea” beetle. Color depends on the species. Most flea beetle species overwinter as adults in protected places. In the spring they will mate and lay their eggs at the soil base of desired host plants. Eggs then hatch into the larval stage which lasts about a month. Ten those larvae will pupae allowing for a second generation of adults in the summer. Flea beetle adults cause damage to foliage by chewing holes or leaving “pits” as shown in the first photo.
- Larvae can reduce plant health by feeding on roots and fine root hairs, but this does not usually cause economic loss. However, some species, such as the tuber flea beetle, may cause significant damage in potato tubers, leaving shallow, winding grooves on the tuber surface or burrowing into the tubers, causing tunnels filled with frass that may stain the potato. Monitoring It is important to monitor for flea beetles on susceptible plants, especially in the spring. Check seedlings at least two times a week until they grow out of their vulnerable stage. In mature plants, treatment may be necessary when flea beetle populations are high, or on plants that are more susceptible to feeding, such as leafy greens. Sticky traps are a monitoring tool that provide a guideline of when beetles are present and in what quantity, but are ineffective in reducing populations. Either yellow or white sticky traps can be used. They should be placed around susceptible host plants just after planting but before seedlings emerge. Row covers are used to cover plants to create a physical barrier against flea beetle adults.
- Generalist predators such as larvae of lacewing, adult big-eyed bugs, and damsel bugs feed on adult flea beetles. Additionally, a parasitoid wasp can kill some species of adult flea beetles. These beneficial insects are attracted to nectar and pollen–producing plants such as anise, chamomile, clover, dill, and marigold. Although foliar application of insecticides is the most common management tactic for flea beetles, insecticides should only be used if necessary. Since plants produce continuous new growth and the highly mobile beetles can rapidly reinvade plantings, insecticides may have to be applied more than once to cover the plant’s susceptible period. I listed some synthetic and organic insecticide options on the chart.
- Adult: About ¼ to ½ inch long. Known as click beetles with a hard-shelled body that is black to brown in color. Make distinctive clicking noises with a “hinge” between the thorax and abdomen. Use clicking mechanism to escape threats. Egg: Small, round, and white; laid singly or in clusters in the moist soil of grassy areas. Larva: About ½ to 1 ½ inches long when mature with a wiry look. Shiny white at first, but become light brown or straw colored with age Pupa: White-colored; contained in an earthen cell in the soil. Adults overwinter in the soil and emerge in late April to early May in northern Utah. Between late May and early June, females lay 50 to 400 eggs in the soil about 6 inches deep. Larvae live in the soil for 1 to 6 years, and are closer to the soil surface in spring and fall. During hot summer periods, larvae move deeper into the soil. Some larvae can be found at depths of 1-5 feet or at the hard pan level. Wireworms are uncommon, but there have been a few cases in Utah. I personally found a lot at a site down in Holliday, UT. In potato, wireworms will feed on seeds and roots of young plants. Larvae can cause severe damage to potato by creating tunnels in tubers as they feed. Infestations do not spread rapidly from one field to another because female beetles are poor flyers.
- Monitoring Inspect the soil surface for wireworms after plowing or disking fields. Management Sanitation. Remove dead plants and tubers throughout the season and at harvest. Wireworm damage typically peaks at mid-season (showing up at harvest as scabbed-over holes in the tubers), and tubers of dead plants can be re-infested, resulting in an increase in wireworm population. Thus, it is important to avoid prolonged periods of time between vine death and harvest. Intensive plowing. Wireworm populations can be reduced by plowing three or more times during late spring and early summer. Resistant varieties. There are some resistant varieties that may be worth testing if wireworms are a potential problem. A study in Oregon found a range of potato varietal susceptibility to wireworms.
- Complete guide to all things vegetable management in the intermountain west. Each section focusses on a certain crop family and provides information on varietal selection, transplanting, soil, fertility, planting and thinning, irrigation, harvest, and disease and insect management. All sections provide a comprehensive list of herbicides, organic pesticide, and synthetic pesticide options. Full color images of production methods, insects, and diseases are included.