The effect of temperature on activity of insecticides for controlling grasshoppers in leafy green vegetables was evaluated. Insecticides evaluated had differing modes of action and included diflubenzuron, azadirachtin, Beauveria bassiana, spinosad, endosulfan, esfenvalerate, and naled. We evaluated these insecticides for efficacy to third instars of differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis (Thomas), at temperatures ranging from 10 to 35 degrees C. In the laboratory, treatment with esfenvalerate resulted in 100% mortality at temperatures of 10 to 35 degrees C, and efficacy was not temperature dependent. Treatment with spinosad resulted in similar mortality as with esfenvalerate at all temperatures except 10 degrees C. The activity of B. bassiana was greatest at 25 degrees C and was adversely affected by high and low temperatures. Treatment with diflubenzuron resulted in increased mortality at high temperatures, and at 35 degrees C its activity was similar to that of esfenvalerate and spinosad. The activity of azadirachtin ranged from 19 to 31% and was not influenced by temperature. In field studies, spinosad, diflubenzuron, and esfenvalerate provided differing levels of mortality both at application and when nymphs were exposed to 1-h-old residues. However, only spinosad and diflubenzuron provided similar levels of mortality when nymphs were exposed to 24-h-old residues. The residual activity of endosulfan, naled, esfenvalerate, and spinosad decreased with increasing time (0-24 h) after exposure to sunlight and high summer temperatures. Compared with other insecticides, naled had a short residual activity period and activity was dependent upon immediate contact with the nymphs or their substrate. B. bassiana was inactive under high temperatures and intense sunlight as occurs in summer.

No abstract

An improved knowledge of effects of density of plants on yield of watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai] would help efforts to determine optimal planting density and to anticipate the economic impact of factors that reduce density. We conducted a series of experiments to determine plant density‐dependent rates of change of marketable yield, fruit biomass, and marketable fraction in watermelon cultivar Sugar Baby. In single‐row plots, at least 3.7 m apart, density varied from 0.4 to 4.1 plants m2 (1000‐9000 plants ha−1). Marketable yield per unit area increased at linear rates of 0.5 to 1.1 Mg ha−1 per thousand plants ha−1 because fruit biomass increased at linear rates of 1.1 to 3.2 Mg ha−1 per thousand plants ha−1. The linear effect of plant density explained more than 90% of the increase in fruit biomass per unit area in most experiments. Density did not affect the fraction of fruit biomass that was of marketable quality. The linear rate of change in the marketable fraction did not exceed 3% per 1000 plants ha−1 on average in any experiment. Per plant, marketable yield and fruit biomass, respectively, decreased at curvilinear rates of 0.8 to 8.6 and 1.4 to 10.8 (kg plant−1 per thousand plants ha−1) (plants ha−1)2. These decreases were consistent with a constraint due to intraspecific competition. Our results support the hypothesis that efficiency of commercial production of watermelon could be increased by increasing planting densities.

In five field trials over 3 years, control of aphid-transmitted, nonpersistent virus diseases on pumpkin, caused mostly by the potyviruses Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) and Papaya ringspot virus type-W (PRSV-W), was achieved by intercropping with grain sorghum, as opposed to clean tillage. Reductions in disease incidence ranged from 43 to 96% (P ≤ 0.05). Surrounding pumpkin plots with borders of peanut, soybean, or corn was not effective. Borders of grain sorghum were effective, but disease control was generally less than for the intercrop treatment. Intercropping soybean and peanut with pumpkin reduced disease incidence by 27 to 60% (P ≤ 0.05), but disease control generally was less than for grain sorghum. Peak periods of alate aphid immigration generally preceded virus disease outbreaks by 7 to 14 days. However, alate landing rates, as measured in green tile traps, did not differ among treatments. Marketable yield was not increased by the intercrop treatments, and yield was reduced by up to 50% for the intercrop treatment with grain sorghum in two trials. The use of grass-selective herbicide applied along pumpkin rows, reduced seeding rates of the intercrops, or mowing did not alleviate the adverse effects of competition between pumpkin and the grain sorghum intercrop on yield.

The relationship between dose for each of four biorational insecticides (pyrethrins, neem extract, capsiacin extract, insecticidal soap) and mortality of the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) was determined using a laboratory bioassay. These insecticides were toxic to aphids and paired mixtures of the insecticides provided synergistic activity as measured by aphid mortality under the laboratory bioassay conditions. Capsiacin extracts were found to provide low levels of mortality alone but acted synergistically in mixtures with the other insecticides and provided higher than expected levels of mortality. Activity as determined in the laboratory for each insecticide was not evident under field-use conditions in five separate experiments. Under field conditions and using common application methods, these insecticides did not provide significant levels of control of aphids.