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22 July 2020 Low Tunnels Reduce Insect Populations, Insecticide Application, and Chewing Insect Damage on Brussels Sprouts
Tej P. Acharya, Gregory E. Welbaum, Ramón A. Arancibia
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Abstract

Low tunnels covered with spun-bonded fabric (row covers) provide season extension for vegetable production and also afford a physical barrier against airborne insects and other non-soil pests. Brussels sprouts, Brassica oleracea L. group Gemmifera (Brassicaceae), is a popular vegetable in local markets in Virginia; however, unprotected field production is severely affected by insect pest infestation.This study's objective was to determine the level of protection low tunnels provide against insect infestation and leaf herbivory injury.The experiment was conducted at the Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Painter,Virginia. The experimental design was split-plot with polyethylene soil mulches (white or black) as whole plot factors and production systems (low tunnel or open field) as subplot factors. In this study, low tunnels reduced insect infestation and chewing herbivory leaf injury to Brussels sprouts. Compared to an unprotected open field, infestations of lepidopteran insects and harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica (Hahn) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) were reduced on plants under low tunnels. However, aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidae) infestation occurred under low tunnels in fall.There was no effect of color mulches (white or black) and no interaction between tunnel and mulch color on insect infestation and chewing injury. Fewer insect infestations and feeding injury indicate that low tunnels can be an effective management tool for sustainable vegetable production.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Tej P. Acharya, Gregory E. Welbaum, and Ramón A. Arancibia "Low Tunnels Reduce Insect Populations, Insecticide Application, and Chewing Insect Damage on Brussels Sprouts," Journal of Economic Entomology 113(5), 2553-2557, (22 July 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaa154
Received: 9 March 2020; Accepted: 20 June 2020; Published: 22 July 2020
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KEYWORDS
aphid
feeding injury index
harlequin bug
lepidopteran
row cover
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