Toxicity and Field Efficacy of Acetamiprid on Asparagus Beetle

Kuhar, Thomas P.; Doughty, Helene B.; Hitchner, Erin M.; Chapman, Anna V.

Toxicity and Field Efficacy of Acetamiprid on Asparagus Beetle

2006

Kuhar, Thomas P. | Doughty, Helene B. | Hitchner, Erin M. | Chapman, Anna V.

The asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi L., is a major pest of asparagus in the United States. Commercial growers typically apply a foliar insecticide in the spring to kill adults before they can oviposit on asparagus spears. However, very few new insecticides have been registered on the crop in the last twenty years, and many chemicals have lost their registrations due to enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a novel neonicotinoid insecticide, acetamiprid, to control all life stages of the asparagus beetle. Laboratory toxicity assays revealed that acetamiprid is highly toxic to asparagus beetle eggs and larvae. LC₅₀ levels were 8.95 mg ai/liter for eggs and 0.012 mg ai/liter for larvae. Field efficacy trials in Virginia showed that acetamiprid applied at 0.112 kg ai/ha significantly reduced the numbers of asparagus beetle adults, eggs, and larvae on asparagus equal to or greater than that of the insecticide standard, methomyl. Acetamiprid also provided excellent control of aphids on spears, equal to or greater than that of methomyl.

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