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Incorporating Sheep Into Dryland Grain Production Systems I. Impact On Over-Wintering Larva Populations Of Wheat Stem Sawfly, Cephus Cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), P. G. Hatfield, Sue L. Blodgett, T. M. Spezzano, H. B. Goosey, Andrew W. Lenssen, R. W. Kott, C. B. Marlow

Andrew W. Lenssen

Wheat stem sawfly (WSS), Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) is the most damaging insect pest to Montana’s $1 billion dollar per year grain industry. Current WSS control methods are either expensive, reduce wheat yields, or are not effective. Our objective was to compare burning, grazing, tilling, trampling and clipping wheat stubble fields on over-wintering WSS larval populations. Treatments were evaluated in three experiments using a randomized complete block design and four replications at each site. Eight, six, and two sites were used for Experiments 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Contrast statements were used to make pre-planned comparisons among treatments. For …