The spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber) is regarded as a pest of sweetpotatoes in Mississippi; however, its feeding on sweetpotatoes has not previously been documented. They are attracted to cucurbit crops that could be utilized as a trap crop or sentinel plant for management of cucumber beetles in sweetpotatoes. Studies were conducted between 2006 and 2008 to determine if cucurbit plants have the potential to serve as a trap crop or as sentinel plants for the spotted cucumber beetle in sweetpotato fields, and to determine the status of the spotted cucumber beetle as a sweetpotato pest in Mississippi. Cucurbit plants showed some potential to serve as a trap crop or sentinel plant for the spotted cucumber beetle, however, sweetpotato damage assumed to be caused by cucumber beetle larvae did not correlate with the number of adults captured. Spotted cucumber beetle larvae can feed and survive on sweetpotato roots.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-5662 |
| Date | 02 May 2009 |
| Creators | Fleming, Daniel Edward |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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