Agriculture Commons^™

Repelling Contarinia Nasturtii (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), A Brassica Specialist, Using Non-Host Essential Oils, Chase Stratton

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii Kieffer (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is an invasive pest causing marketable losses on Brassica crops in the Northeastern United States and throughout southern Canada. Heading brassicas, like cauliflower and broccoli, are particularly susceptible because larvae feed concealed inside meristematic tissues of the plant, where head formation occurs. Our work details the development of a sustainable, affordable pest management tactic for swede midge – plant derived repellents.

First, it was necessary to establish both a damage and marketability threshold for swede midge, so we developed a technique to manipulate larval density of swede midge on cauliflower, We asked: (1) …