Each turfgrass species and cultivar has particular optimal growth requirements. Water, fertility and mowing height differ. Similarly, insect pest management needs vary with grass type. As chemical pest management tools become less available, researchers at the University of Georgia are seeking alternative methods in the management of common turfgrass pests. Their foundation management strategy,...

Pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) (PB) is one of the most serious pest in rapeseed cultivations in Poland and in other European countries. The pest is known because of its high metabolic potency towards various toxins. Constant and strong selective pressure of different insecticides used to control this pest, has resulted in resistance of PB to many active substances. In connection with this...

processing, and for numerous new agriculturally based products. This year’s conference — Agricultural Biotechnology and Environmental Quality: Gene Escape and Pest Resistance — is on a topic of great importance to all. This workshops deals with public policy and regulations. Collectively you represent diverse interests, ranging from state and federal regulators, agribusiness providers, public s...

After a pest develops resistance to a pesticide, switching between different unrelated pesticides is a common management option, but this raises the following questions: (1) What is the optimal frequency of pesticide use? (2) How do the frequencies of pesticide applications affect the evolution of pesticide resistance? (3) How can the time when the pest population reaches the economic injury le...

The widespread planting of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) places intense selective pressure on pest populations to evolve resistance. Western corn rootworm is a key pest of maize, and in continuous maize fields it is often managed through planting of Bt maize. During 2009 and 2010, fields were identified in Iowa...

The evolution of insecticide resistance is a global constraint to agricultural production. Spinosad is a new, low-environmental-risk insecticide that primarily targets nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) and is effective against a wide range of pest species. However, after only a few years of application, field evolved resistance emerged in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, an im...

To delay evolution of pest resistance to transgenic crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), the "pyramid" strategy uses plants that produce two or more toxins that kill the same pest. We conducted laboratory diet experiments with the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, to evaluate cross-resistance and interactions between two toxins in pyramided Bt cotton (Cry...

We examine regulations for managing pest resistance to pesticide varieties in a temporally and spatially explicit framework. We compare the performance of the EPA’s mandatory refuges and a tax (or subsidy) on the pesticide variety under several biological assumptions on pest mobility and the heterogeneity of farmers’ pest vulnerability. We find that only the tax (or subsidy) restores efficiency...

Transgenic crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have been adopted worldwide, notably in developing countries. In spite of their success in controlling target pests while allowing a substantial reduction of insecticide use, the sustainable control of these pest populations is threatened by the evolution of resistance. The implementation of the "high dose/refuge" strategy for manag...

Spatial and temporal variability in the application of biological control agents such as parasites or pathogenic bacteria can cause the evolution of resistance in pest organisms. Because biocontrol will be more effective if organisms are not resistant, it is desirable to examine the evolution of resistance under different application strategies. We present a computational method that integrates...