Relationship of hairy chinch bug (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) presence and abundance to parameters of the turf environment
1990
Davis, M.G.K. | Smitley, D.R.
Relationships between hairy chinch bug, Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon, infestation and parameters of the turfgrass environment were examined in a survey of 108 home lawns in the Lansing area of Michigan. Variables examined were thatch thickness, dry weight of grass clippings, chlorophyll content, and grass species. Chinch bugs and predaceous arthropods were counted with a transect sampling method. Thatch thickness was positively correlated with chinch bug abundance and was the only variable that was significantly correlated with chinch bug abundance in all 3 yr. More fine fescue (Festuca rubra) and less Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) were present in infested lawns compared with uninfested lawns. A linear discriminant function with percentage Kentucky bluegrass and thatch thickness variables correctly predicted chinch bug presence in lawns 63-81% of the time.
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