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ABSTRACT: In Missouri, damaged caused by Japanese beetles (JB) has been increasing as populations continue to become established and expand. This study was aimed at
evaluating the potential of mass trapping as an organic control method. In 2012, we assessed the effectiveness of commercial and home-made traps baited with either, one or
two lures (a combination of a powerful sex pheromone and floral attractants) at capturing JB at two Lincoln University (LU) farms and at one commercial elderberry farm in
central Missouri. Over the course of five weeks, >1’550,000 JB were captured by traps in the two LU farms, and >1’120,000 JB were captured in the elderberry farm. The
commercial trap baited with one lure proved to be the most cost-effective. Level of damage caused by JB averaged 2.5% in elderberry at one LU farm, and it was negligible in
the other LU farm. At the commercial elderberry farm, level of damage was minimal in some areas whereas for other areas not well protected by traps damage reached 9.5%,
still within acceptable levels by the farmer given that zero insecticides were applied. Further refinement of this technique is expected to contribute to more effective
management of this pest not only in Missouri, but also in other U.S. regions where JB is present.
Mass trapping proved effective at suppressing JB at 3 Missouri farms.
The most cost-effective trap was the one with yellow tops and one lure. The net socks
were able to hold more than 20,000 JB per trap and this resulted in less effort in terms
of emptying the traps. Despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of JB in traps in
some dates, very few JB were present on the cash crop. Future studies are expected to
improve the effectiveness of this system while making it more farmer-friendly.
Mass trapping: a potential organic management option
for Japanese beetles
The Japanese
beetle (JB), Popillia japonica (Fig. 1), is
a highly destructive plant pest of
foreign origin. It was first found in the
United States in a nursery in southern
New Jersey in 1916. In its native Japan,
this insect is not a serious plant pest
because the beetle's natural enemies
keep its populations in check. In the
U.S., however, JB entered without its
natural enemies and found a favorable
climate and an abundant food supply.
Both as adults and as grubs (the larval
stage), JB is a destructive feeder of
fruits (Fig. 2), vegetables, some field
crops, and ornamentals.
Organic management options for this pest
are very limited. Some cultural approaches
involve soil moisture management and
tillage to reduce grub populations. Some
biological control options include soil
applications of the bacteria-based milky
spore and insect-killing nematodes, whereas
chemical options include neem, pyrethrum,
and a few other OMRI-listed materials.
INTRODUCTION
Lincoln University Cooperative Research and Extension, Jefferson City, MO
*pineroj@lincolnu.edu
Jaime C. Piñero* and Jacob Wilson
CONCLUSIONS
Fig. 1 The Japanese beetle is a highly destructive plant pest of foreign origin.
Few effective organic management options management are available.
An assessment of plant
damage conducted at Carver
farm on June 16, 2013,
revealed very few JB on 60
perimeter-row elderberry
plants (average: 1.34 beetles
per plant). The average
defoliation per plant by JB was
2.36 percent. In contrast, on
the same week 12 odor-baited
traps captured 204,514
beetles in a four-day period
(June 14-18, 2013).
The modified trap with yellow top was
more effective at attracting and killing JB than the
home-made traps, and no differences in captures
between one and two lures were noted (Fig. 5).
This study was conducted at a two
Lincoln University (LU) farms (George Washington
Carver and Alan T. Busby) located in Jefferson City,
MO, and at a commercial elderberry farm in
Hartsburg, MO. The trapping site at LU Carver
farm was an experimental 0.5 acre of elderberry
plants that comprised 9 different varieties. The
second LU site was in a certified organic, young
blueberry orchard (ca. 3 acres). The commercial
elderberry farm at Hartsburg comprises > 14 acres
of mixed elderberry cultivars in full production.
Four treatments (depicted in Fig. 3), each
replicated 4 times, were evaluated at the LU Busby
and at the commercial elderberry farm:
1) Home-made trap – 1 lure
2) Home-made trap – 2 lures
3) Yellow top – 1 lure
4) Yellow top – 2 lures
OBJECTIVE
APPROACH
RESULTS
The main goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of mass trapping for the
suppression of JB in three commercial small fruit orchards in central Missouri. A
secondary objective was to compare the performance of home-made traps and
modified traps baited with either, one or two lures, at trapping JB.
Treatments evaluated at Carver
farm were (2), (3) and (4) only. Traps
were deployed at the periphery (25-
40 m. away) of the cropped area (Fig.
4), in late May (Carver and Hartsburg)
and on June 13 (Busby). All lures were
replaced 2 weeks after deployment.
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
4-Jun
7-Jun
11-Jun
14-Jun
18-Jun
21-Jun
25-Jun
28-Jun
2-Jul
5-Jul
9-Jul
12-Jul
Mean number of beetles captured per trap
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Tanjim Hossain, Ese Ovwielefuoma, and Austen
Dudenhoeffer for technical support, and Terry Durham (Elderberry Life farm, Hartsburg,
MO) for allowing us to conduct this study in his farm. Funding for this project was
provided by Lincoln University.
∑ 79,600
∑ 75,600
∑ 33200
∑ 23,200
Fig. 2. Japanese beetles attack > 400 plant species including small
fruits such as blueberries, grapes, raspberries, and elderberries.
Mass trapping has not been evaluated yet
as an organic management strategy for this invasive pest.
(1) (2)
(3) (1)
Fig. 3. Traps evaluated for mass trapping of JB in Missouri.
Fig. 4. Trap deployment at the LU Busby farm in Jefferson City, MO. The entire
farm (280 acres) is in transition to organic and includes a 3-acres organic
blueberry orchard, site where the evaluation of mass trapping was conducted.
Busby farm
Hartsburg farm
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
Mean number of JB captured per trap
Home-made
1 lure
Home-made
2 lures
Yellow top
1 lure
Yellow top
2 lures
Fig. 5. Captures of JB by modified traps at the Busby farm blueberry orchard (blue bars)
and at the Hartsburg elderberry farm (orange bars) according to trap type and no. of lures.
24 hours after
deployment!
The temporal dynamics of JB
captures by traps over the entire
trapping period is presented for the
Hartsburg farm in Fig. 6. At this
farm, the first JB were captured on 4
June, and the peak of JB activity
took place on June 28. At the peak
of captures farm) yellow traps
captured an average of over 20,000
JB in a 24-hour period (Fig. 7).
Overall, over the course of five
weeks, > 750,000 and > 800,000 JB
were captured by traps at the LU
Carver (elderberry) and Busby
(blueberry) farms, respectively, and
over 1’120,000 JB were captured at
the Hartsburg (elderberry) farm.
Fig. 7. Representative captures of JB in one modified trap
with yellow top. More than 20,000 JB can fit in the net sock.
Fig. 6. Seasonal occurrence of JB captures at the Hartsburg farm showing the onset,
peak, and decline in captures indicating the end of JB season in central MO.
Fig. 8. Aerial view of the 14-acre commercial elderberrry farm in Hartsburg, MO, showing
the location of the four mass trapping sites (4 traps each). The red line shows the area
where a visual assessment of JB damage to elderberry foliage was conducted. Numbers
indicate total number of JB captured for each set of four traps on June 18, 2013.
An assessment of JB presence on elderberry plants and of level of defoliation by JB
was conducted on 22 June, 2012, at the Hartsburg farm. In despite of the capture of
>211,600 JB in traps (Fig. 8), very few JB were found on plants (0.28/plant on average in
the back row, and 3.3/plant on average in the perimeter row). Levels of defoliation
were < 1 % and ~9.5% for the back and front rows, respectively.