Agriculture Commons^™

Management Of Sugarcane Aphid (Melanaphis Sacchari) Using Biological And Cultural Tactics In Kentucky, Nathan Harriman Mercer

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

In 2013, a new aphid pest of sorghum, the sugarcane aphid Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was found in the southern US, and caused significant yield loss in sorghum. Since then, M. sacchari has spread to most of the sorghum growing regions. Unmanaged populations can cause complete crop loss in grain, forage and sweet sorghum. M. sacchari cannot survive winters without a live plant tissue and must recolonize much of its pest range annually. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an important crop for many growers in Kentucky, producing $16-25 million a year from its syrup. Biological control of …

Mechanical Exclusion And Biological Control Strategies For The Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha Halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Rachelyn Dobson

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an invasive, agriculturally destructive pest present in most of the United States. Because organic farmers have few effective control options to combat this pest, three potential control options were investigated. Screens of different mesh sizes (0.42cm, 0.32cm, and 0.10cm) that covered vegetable crops were evaluated for their ability to exclude H. halys, allow the entry of beneficial insects, and protect the crop from various types of damage. H. halys and native stink bug egg masses were placed in an organic field and evidence of predation and parasitism from native …

Selective Utilization Of Microhabitats By Web-Building Spiders, Kelton D. Welch

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Natural enemies are members of complex ecological communities, and their ability to contribute to the biological control of pest organisms is strongly influenced by a convoluted network of ecological interactions with many other organisms within these communities. Researchers must develop an understanding of the mechanisms that shape trophic webs to predict and promote top-down effects of predators. The behavior of predators can have a strong influence on their potential as biological control agents.

Web-building spiders are a useful example organism for the study of natural enemy behavior because of the experimentally tractable nature of their foraging behavior. Specifically, patterns in …