Hannah Johnson FINAL THESIS DEFENSE CROP AND SOIL SCIENCE

March 26, 2025 1:00PM - 2:00PM

PSSB A271 CONFERENCE ROOM

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF KEY PESTS IN CORN-POTATO SYSTEMS: VOLUNTEER POTATO AND COLORADO POTATO BEETLE

Members of the Examining Committee and their Department:

  1. Dr. Erin Burns – Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
  1. Dr. Christy Sprague - Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
  1. Dr. Szendrei Zsofia – Department of Entomology
  2. Dr. Jamie Willbur - Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

ABSTRACT

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), CPB) and volunteer potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are detrimental pests in potato producing regions. Warming winter temperatures has increased the likelihood of volunteer survival, an early season food source for CPB. Therefore, field experiments were conducted in 2023 and 2024 to evaluate integrated management strategies of these key pests. Experiments included: (1) management of volunteer potatoes and CPB in corn rotations using tillage and tank-mixed herbicides-insecticides, and (2) planting delayed potato trap crops to manage second generation CPB. In volunteer studies, light intensity tillage reduced volunteer emergence by 80% compared to aggressive tillage, due to increased expose of volunteers to lethal winter temperatures. Late season volunteer control was the greatest in mesotrione treatments, which reduced the number and weight of daughter tubers by 55-78% and 80-88%, respectively, in the plow tillage system. Insecticide tank mixes reduced CPB density on volunteers and decreased defoliation of volunteers throughout the season. Corn injury was less than 5% across all tank-mixed herbicide-insecticide treatments. In the trap crop study, delaying potato trap crop planting resulted in localized differences in CPB density, with increased CPB pressure observed in the 2 wk trap crop treatment. Trap crop treatments did not reduce the rate of defoliation in main potato crops planted next to trap crop treatments resulting in no differences in yield. However, findings from this study demonstrate that delayed potato trap crop planting can alter CPB infestation of field edges providing an opportunity for localized management with foliar insecticide applications. Overall, this research investigated multiple integrated management approaches to control these key pests in corn and potato rotation

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