Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea Boddie (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a common herbivore that causes economic damage to agronomic and specialty crops across North America. The interannual abundance of H. zea is closely linked to climactic variables that influence overwintering survival, as well as within-season host plant availability that drives generational population increases. Although the abiotic and biotic drivers of H. zea populations have been well documented, prior temporal H. zea modeling studies have largely focused on mechanistic/simulation approaches, long term distribution characterization, or degree day-based phenology within the growing season. While these modeling approaches provide insight into H. zea population ecology, growers remain interested in approaches that forecast the interannual magnitude of moth flights which is a key knowledge gap limiting early warning before crops are planted. Our study used trap data from 48 site-by-year combinations distributed across North Carolina between 2008 and 2021 to forecast H. zea abundance in advance of the growing season. To do this, meteorological data from weather stations were combined with crop and soil data to create predictor variables for a random forest H. zea forecasting model. Overall model performance was strong (R2 = 0.92, RMSE = 350) and demonstrates a first step toward development of contemporary model-based forecasting tools that enable proactive approaches in support of integrated pest management plans. Similar methods could be applied at a larger spatial extent by leveraging national gridded climate and crop data paired with trap counts to expand forecasting models throughout the H. zea overwintering range.

BACKGROUND: Montana accounts for approximately 45% of US dry pea production and the pea leaf weevil (PLW; Sitona lineatus (L.)) is the most common insect pest in this region. After crop emergence adult PLW feed on the foliage to mature and subsequently mate, and the soil-dwelling larvae feed and develop on the nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Producers commonly apply prophylactic insecticide treatments to the seed at planting as well as one or two post-emergent insecticide sprays to control PLW damage. To develop alternative management strategies based on integrated pest management (IPM), this field study evaluated pulse crops grown in Montana for adult feeding preference and larval development. Ten different field pea varieties, along with two faba bean, lentil and chickpea varieties, were evaluated during the 2020 and 2021 field seasons at the Montana State University Arthur H. Post Agronomy Farm. RESULTS: Significant PLW pest pressure was observed within the research plots during both experimental years. Field pea and faba bean were preferred by the foliage feeding adult stage, with all but one variety averaging 39.2 to 86.3 average notches per plant. The pea variety Lifter was significantly preferred over all other comparisons, averaging 142.4 and 95.0 notches per plant in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Adult PLW feeding on lentil and chickpea was minimal, averaging 3.3 to 8.2 and 0.5 to 1.6 notches per plant, respectively. Numbers of larvae were highest on the roots of pea varieties, a known reproductive host, and almost nil on lentil and chickpea roots. Faba bean is also known as reproductive host, but, unexpectedly, larval populations were also low on the two faba bean varieties. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study provide some limited evidence for alternative IPM strategies for field peas based on host plant tolerance or resistance within the range of varieties tested. Adult preference and larval development of PLW varied between the different pulse crops with field peas and faba beans being the most susceptible and lentils and chickpeas being the least susceptible. Host plant resistance against PLW could provide more sustainable IPM approaches in the future. (c) 2024 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The melon fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae Coquillett is one the most devastating and polyphagous insect pests affecting cucurbitaceous vegetables and fruits across various regions worldwide. It primarily damages the economic part of the plant i.e., the fruits, causing direct damage to the produce resulting in huge losses to the farmers. Moreover, the presence of immature fruit fly stages in harvested produce often leads to regulations. Among the four life stages of the fruit fly, three are concealed in nature (eggs in the superficial skin of the fruit, larvae in the flesh, and pupae in the soil),making its management challenging. The only stage visible in the crop habitat and availablefor intervention is the adult stage. In this paper, we have discussed the basic aspects of the melon fruit fly viz. distribution, biology, molecular and morphological identification, quarantine restriction and odour-based management available in trend and future prospects.