Project Overview
Managing mealybugs as an emerging pest in field-grown potted boxwoods
Commodities
- Additional Plants: ornamentals
Target Pests
- Target Pests: other
Practices
- Pest Management: chemical control, cultural control, monitoring/scouting, pesticide application timing
- Crop Production: nurseries
Proposal abstract:
Mealybugs have become a key pest for open-field nurseries growing ornamental plants in Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost due to the inability to sell mealybug infested ornamental plants, especially when selling them across State lines. In addition, nursery growers are spending significant amounts of money on their pest management budgets to control this insect during the past three years. Nursery growers in Virginia and elsewhere have a need for science-based solutions to successfully manage this insect. This seed project is proposing using boxwood as a case study to promote the scouting of this key pest in the field, as well as understanding the preference of mealybugs for different boxwood cultivars. Having an established monitoring method for this pest will impact insecticide use, reducing non-target effects on the beneficials in affected systems. Knowing what cultivars are more susceptible to mealybugs will also inform growers on how to prioritize monitoring by scouting the most susceptible boxwood cultivars first. And, to maximize chemical control of this pest, one additional goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of several insecticide active ingredients and regimes under field conditions to reduce mealybugs populations in boxwood. Ultimately, generated information from this proposal will inform mealybug management programs for nurseries in Virginia and across the region.
Project objectives from proposal:
a. Extension
a.1. Produce an educational video for scouting mealybugs.
a.2. Publish an updated fact sheet on mealybug biology and management.
a.3. Send pest alerts on mealybug densities to growers.
b. Research
b.1. Conduct species-level identification of mealybugs reported to cause unusual infestations on potted boxwood plants grown under open-field conditions.
b.2. Document the phenology of mealybugs and associated predators.
b.3. Compare the susceptibility of commercially grown boxwood cultivars to mealybug infestations.
b.4. Evaluate the efficacy of alternative insecticides to neonicotinoids under small-plot conditions.
b.5. Evaluate the efficacy of different insecticide regimes to control mealybugs under field conditions.
