Biology of the Soybean Aphid in the United States

A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/PM10016) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management describes the biology and ecology profiles of the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura), an insect pest which can reduce soybean yields by $2.4 billion annually if left untreated.

The authors review the invasion history and distribution of the soybean aphid, as well as its biology and the feeding damage it causes. Biological control, host plant resistance, and other factors affecting soybean aphid populations are also discussed.

Though at present management of this pest is primarily through broad-spectrum insecticides, biological control has a significant impact on soybean aphid population growth, and aphid-resistant soybean varieties are becoming increasingly available.

The article will be useful to soybean growers, educators, individuals working in crop protection, and others involved with soybean production.

Click here for the article "Biology of the Soybean Aphid, Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the United States."

The Journal of Integrated Pest Management, an open-access, peer-reviewed, extension journal covering the field of integrated pest management, is published by the Entomological Society of America (ESA). Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers,extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives,research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.

Biology and Management of Thrips in Cotton Seedlings

A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/IPM10024) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management provides a brief summary of the various species of thrips present in U.S. cotton, their plant host range and injury to cotton, a general description of thrips biology, and management practices currently available to growers.

Several species of thrips are known to infest cotton seedlings in the United States and constitute one of the most common insect pest challenges for growers. The species complex, species abundance, extent of crop injury, and impact on lint yield varies widely across the cotton states.

Feeding by thrips results in distortion, malformation and tearing of seedling leaves, reduced leaf area and plant height, reduced root growth, and injury to or death of the apical meristem, the latter of which leads to excessive vegetative branching. Plant maturity (i.e., fruit production) can be delayed and in extreme cases, losses of as much a 30-50% of lint yield potential have been reported.

Click here for a free download of "Biology, Crop Injury, and Management of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Infesting Cotton Seedlings in the United States."

The Journal of Integrated Pest Management, an open-access, peer-reviewed, extension journal covering the field of integrated pest management, is published by the Entomological Society of America. Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers,extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives,research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.

Legume ipmPIPE Provides Real-Time Pest Data

A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/IPM11003) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management describes the background, usage, and value of the Legume Integrated Pest Management Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (ipmPIPE). The goal of the Legume ipmPIPE is to identify causes of losses (yield, quality, economic) in legumes and assist producers in minimizing those losses by implementing integrated pest management of pathogens and insect pests.

Legume ipmPIPE leverages a variety of programs and resources based on data collected from legume sentinel or mobile plots in as many as 25 states and in Canada and Mexico through collaborations with in-country scientists. It identified priority fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens or diseases and insect pests (including pathogen vectors) for monitoring based upon sampling and diagnostic protocols, and kit-based high output viral immunoassays for use by the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) labs.

Another key feature is its enhanced communication between scientists specializing in legumes and collated data reporting from across the United States. It capitalizes upon a Web-based platform for information access and display to extension educators, research scientists, industry, and other stakeholders with a portfolio of management and education tools.

Project specialists have distributed a set of 24 pocket sized cards (print and online versions) to legume stakeholders and integrated pest management personnel that improves the accuracy of plant growth stage descriptions, plant pathogen or disease and insect pest diagnostics for legume crops such as common bean, chickpea, lentil, field pea, lima bean, and cowpea.

The greatest asset of the Legume ipmPIPE is the outstanding extension specialists, researchers, coordinators, diagnosticians, stakeholders, field workers, and others who each year provide “the eyes and feet on the ground” to make this project happen. The Legume ipmPIPE has also provided real-time national interaction and a communication conduit for extension specialists, researchers, and diagnosticians, and has increased their coordination and cooperation. It has forged new connections with legume stakeholders and industry enabling the Legume ipmPIPE to be more responsive to the needs of growers and their industry.

Although funding remains a significant challenge for all of the ipmPIPE components in the future, the Legume ipmPIPE coordinators anticipate continued service to the legume industry and stakeholders. An additional set of four diagnostic cards will be produced on topics related to seedling emergence issues, other legume viruses, and pest resistance to pesticides. In addition, weather forecasts and a real-time price discovery tool (spot prices provided periodically by legume crop suppliers) will be added to the Website. This commodity component will enhance the overall utility and economic value of the ipmPIPE to legume crop growers and other stakeholders, and the sustainability of their production and pest management system throughout the United States.

Click here for the full article, "Legume ipmPIPE: A New Option for Generating, Summarizing, and Disseminating Real-Time Pest Data to Stakeholders."

The Journal of Integrated Pest Management, an open-access, peer-reviewed, extension journal covering the field of integrated pest management, is published by the Entomological Society of America (ESA). Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers,extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives,research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.

Entomological Society of America (ESA): Soybean Rust PIPE: Past, Present, and Future

Entomological Society of America (ESA): Soybean Rust PIPE: Past, Present, and Future: A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/IPM11001) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management describes the origin, function, successes, ...

Soybean Rust PIPE: Past, Present, and Future

A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/IPM11001) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management describes the origin, function, successes, limitations, and future of the Soybean Rust Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE).

Soybean rust (SBR), a potentially devastating disease of soybean caused by the fungus Phakospora pachyrhizi Sydow, was first detected in the continental United States in the fall of 2004. Beginning in 2005, the SBR-Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE), has been used to provide soybean farmers with the information needed to make the best possible SBR management decisions. It is estimated that SBR-PIPE has saved farmers between $209-299 million, annually, since 2005.

The "engine" for the SBR-PIPE is state-of-the-art information technology delivered through the Internet, and the "fuel" for the engine is accurate and timely SBR monitoring data and observations made by trained individuals, as well as publicly available weather data used to run SBR predictive models. Some consider the SBR-PIPE to represent the best of what can be accomplished in the United States when everyone works together toward accomplishing a “must-do” mission.

However, the authors conclude that the future of the SBR-PIPE is uncertain. If funding for the sentinel network or the IT infrastructure continues to erode, there will likely be comparable erosion of the value of the SBR-PIPE to stakeholders. SBR monitoring in 2010 was only 25% of what it was in 2005. However, most scientists feel that this level of monitoring is acceptable as long as the emphasis in the South continues to detect early outbreaks in a timely manner. If monitoring levels are cut further in the South, it will be progressively more difficult to accurately follow SBR progress from year to year. If stakeholders feel like they can no longer trust the data being generated within the context of the SBR-PIPE, it will fold and cease to exist. However, as long as monitoring and the IT infrastructure can be maintained at its current level, the SBR-PIPE will continue to be a viable entity as long as it is needed.

Click here for the full article, "Soybean Rust PIPE: Past, Present, and Future."

The Journal of Integrated Pest Management, an open-access, peer-reviewed, extension journal covering the field of integrated pest management, is published by the Entomological Society of America (ESA). Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers,extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives,research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.

ESA's 2012 Election Results

http://www.entsoc.org/press-releases/esas-2012-election-results

The votes from the 2012 ESA Officers Election have been counted and the new officers have been selected for ESA national offices and for ESA Sections. In addition, the ESA membership has selected four new Honorary Members, and has approved of three amendments to the ESA Bylaws.

The following incoming officers will begin their terms at the ESA Final Business Meeting in Reno, Nevada, Wednesday, November 16, 2011:

National Offices

- ESA Vice President-Elect: Frank Zalom, University of California, Davis

- North Central Branch Representative to the ESA Governing Board: John Obrycki, University of Kentucky

- Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology Section Representative to the ESA Governing Board: Carol Anelli, Washington State University

- Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Section Representative to the ESA Governing Board: John Oswald, Texas A&M University

- Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Section Representative to the Publications Council: Alec Gerry, University of California, Riverside

Certification Program

- Certification Board Director-Elect: Mustapha Debboun, U.S. Army Medical Department

- North Central Branch Representative to the ESA Certification Board: Stuart Mitchell, PestWest Environmental, Inc

Section Offices

- Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section Vice President-Elect: John Adamczyk

- Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Section Vice President-Elect: Wes Watson, North Carolina State University

- Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Section Vice President-Elect: Jessica Ware, Rutgers University

- Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology Section Vice President-Elect: Jeff Stuart, Purdue University

- Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology Section Treasurer: Richard Mankin

Honorary Membership acknowledges those who have served ESA for at least 20 years through significant involvement in the affairs of the Society that has reached an extraordinary level. Those holding the title of Honorary Member receive complimentary lifetime membership to the ESA, as well as complimentary lifetime registration to ESA Annual Meetings. At the Annual Meeting, new Honorary Members are presented with an inscribed plaque and an Honorary Member pin.

The following entomologists have been elected as ESA Honorary Members:

- Marvin K. Harris, Texas A&M University

- Gail E. Kampmeier, Illinois Natural History Survey

- Kevin L. Steffey, Dow AgroSciences

- Michael L. Williams, Auburn University

Below are the results of three amendments to the ESA Bylaws:

- Bylaws Amendment #1 (Appointing student liaisons to ESA Standing Committees) - APPROVED

- Bylaws Amendment #2 (Honorary Membership can exceed one percent of ESA membership) - APPROVED

- Bylaws Amendment #3 (Multi-Branch membership allowed upon remittal of the appropriate fees) - APPROVED

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are students, researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, and hobbyists. For more information, please visit http://www.entsoc.org.