Life Sciences Commons^™

Symptoms, Distribution And Abundance Of The Stem-Boring Caterpillar, Blastobasis Repartella (Dietz), In Switchgrass, Jarrad R. Prasifka, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw, Arvid A. Boe, Dokyoung Lee, David Adamski, Michael E. Gray

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

A potential pest of switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., was first detected in South Dakota in 2004, where death of partially emerged leaves was noted in a small proportion of tillers. Similar “dead heart” symptoms were observed in switchgrass in Illinois during 2008 and adults of a stem-boring caterpillar were collected and identified as Blastobasis repartella (Dietz). In 2009, a survey of the central United States was used to estimate the distribution and abundance of this insect. In eight northern states, B. repartella was consistently found in both cultivated plots and natural stands of switchgrass. In four southern states, B. repartella …