Date March 1, 1992

Title of Project The Development and Implementation of Integrated Pest Management in Floriculture

Institution where work is being conducted Department of Entomology, Univ. of California, Davis

Amount of Endowment Grant $ 58,000
Covering Period 1/1/92 to 3/1/92

Anticipated Date of Project Completion/Final Report Ongoing project

Individual(s) Conducting Project:

(List Project Leader First)

Michael P. Parrella - Title Professor & Chairperson

Telephone Number (916) 752-0492

The Development and Implementation of Integrated Pest Management in Floriculture

Michael P. Parrella

University of California-Davis

Progress Report to the American Floral Endowment, 3/1/92

The four major areas of my research funded by the Endowment for

1992 are:

1) biological control of major floriculture pests and

implementation of IPM strategies,

2) biological studies with major

floriculture pests and their natural enemies,

3) pesticide efficacy and

compatibility with natural enemies, and

4) continued search of the

literature dealing with pests of floriculture crops. Each of these areas are

briefly summarized below.

Biological Control/Implementation:

The main focus of the project has been to find new, more effective

natural enemies of the sweetpotato whitefly. We are currently evaluating

the following parasitoids: E. tabacivora and E. deserti, E. transvena, and

Encarsia sp. near formosa. In addition, the predaceous lady beetle,

Delphastus pusillus , and the fungus, Paecilomyces fumosoroseus, are

being examined. Attributes for all these natural enemies (with the

exception of the fungus) under evaluation include longevity, egg laying

capacity, ability to kill whiteflies at various densities, percent emergence

(survival) and the response to odors emitted by whiteflies infested poinsettia

leaves. The latter attribute provides an indication of how effective a natural

enemy will be when searching a poinsettia greenhouse with low whitefly

populations. This is extremely important because pest populations in

ornamental crops must be kept low if the biological control program is to be

successful. At this point we believe that the lady beetle Delphastus pusillus

and the parasitoids Encarsia tabacivora and E. near formosa are the most

promising candidates. In addition, the beetle is compatible with the

parasitoids because it avoids feeding on immature whiteflies that have been

parasitized. Further work of the biology of the these natural enemies is

underway. A Ph. D student is working on the predator/parasitoid

combination for biological control of whiteflies as her dissertation research.

Work is continuing on the effective use of the leafminer parasitoid,

Diglyphus begini, for leafminer control in chrysanthemums and other

crops. Research on the use of parasites, predators and pathogens for aphid

and fungus gnat control on floricultural crops is ongoing. An exciting

‘new’ discovery is a nematode that appears to attack western flower thrips

inside the flowers of several ornamental crops. Very little is known about

this nematode; however, it is decidedly different from the nematodes that

are commercially available.

We have initiated the implementation of a full IPM program for

chrysanthemums with demonstration projects in San Diego, Ventura,

Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties.

Biological Studies:

Most of our biology/ecology have focused on the various natural

enemies of major floricultural pests (described above) but work is

continuing of the green peach and melon aphids on chrysanthemums,

sweetpotato and greenhouse whiteflies on several ornamentals, and with

leafminers on marigolds and other crops. Major emphasis is on the biology

and behavior of western flower thrips in commercial carnation ranges.

Detailed studies of feeding and preference of the western flower thrips on

carnations have revealed interesting results; the damage caused on foliage

is insidious and can often be confused with other types of injury. In

addition, the bracts adjacent to the flowers are a preferred area for egg

laying. The phenology and development of sweetpotato whitefly on a

commercial poinsettia crop is nearing completion.

Pesticide Efficacy and Compatibility:

The number of potential new materials for our industry is somewhat

reassuring We are currently working with exciting new materials from

Mobay, Grace Sierra, Uniroyal, Dow-Elanco, American Cyanamid,

Agridyne, Rohm & Haas and Lonza. These materials have efficacy which

ranges from leafminers to aphids and clearly will be welcomed by our

industry if and when they attain registration. As each material is

evaluated, we try to determine its compatibility with the leafminer parasite,

Diglyphus begini, and with selected whitefly natural enemies. We have an

active program designed to detect and evaluate development of resistance by

western flower thrips to Avid. Results have been quite revealing; it appears

that adults are not sensitive to the material — this is not resistance, just a

lack of sensitivity. Immatures are readily killed by Avid, but we detected

more than 100 fold resistance in immatures from commercial ranges were

Avid has been used extensively. We have been working closely with Merck

on developing resistance management strategies for their product. I

currently serve as one of 2 agricultural advisors for Merck, Sharp & Dohme

Research Laboratories where resistance management has been the focus of

discussion for the past 3 years.

Literature Review:

This is an ongoing effort and literature is continually compiled. The

book chapter on the Arthropod Fauna in Greenhouses (part of Elsevier’s

The Greenhouse Ecosystem) should be published soon. This has been

updated during the past year as new information becomes available. The

book chapter has compiled all the literature into one source including a list

of all greenhouse pests on a worldwide basis.

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