Stink Bug Management on Tomatoes

1
Stink Bug Management on Tomatoes

• Celeste Welty
• Extension Entomologist
• Ohio State University
• February 2002

2
Stink Bug as a Tomato Pest

• Bugs suck on fruit
• Damage seen more often than bug itself
• Damage often not noticed until harvest
• Problem on whole-pack fresh market varieties

3
Stink Bug Damage on Tomato

• Obvious yellow blotch
• Develops after fruit ripens if bugs fed on green
  fruit
• Subtle white cloudy-spot
• Seen after bugs fed on red fruit

4
Stink Bug Damage on Tomato
yellow blotch
cloudy spot

• Diagnose by plugs of white tissue under the peel

5
Most common species in tomato fields the
one-spotted stink bug (Euschistus variolarius)
6
Stink bug life stages

• Eggs
• Nymphs
• (5 instars)
• Adult

7
Lab study to characterize stink bug damage, 1996

• Start with hatching egg, end with new adult
• One bug per dish with
• 1 green fruit
• 1 red fruit
• 1 leaf
• Fresh set-up every 4 days

8
Stink bug behavior on tomatoLocation in
observation arena
Red fruit
100
90
Green fruit
80
Leaf
70
Dish
60
50
Mean of time
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
(adult)
Instar
9
Percentage of tomato fruit surface damaged by
stink bugs during 4-day periods from egg hatch to
adult eclosion
50
Green fruit
40
Red fruit
30
of fruit surface damaged
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Time period
Corresponding instar
I-II II-III II-III III-IV III-V IV-V
V-Ad V-Ad V-Ad
10
Depth of feeding damage by stink bugs on tomato
during 4-day periods from egg hatch to adult
eclosion
Green fruit
3
Red fruit
2
Damage depth rating
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Time period
Corresponding instar
I-II II-III II-III III-IV III-V IV-V
V-Ad V-Ad V-Ad
11
Short lab study to further characterize bug
damage, 1997

• Compare stink bug tarnished plant bug
• Start with nymph or adult
• One bug per dish with
• 1 green fruit
• 1 red fruit
• Fresh set-up every week for 2 weeks

12
Damage by bugs feeding on red vs green tomato
fruit in two week test
50
green fruit
40
red fruit
30
of surface affected
20
10
0
SBN,wk1
SBA,wk1
TPB,wk1
TPB,wk2
SBA, wk2
SBNA,wk2
stink bug
stink bug
tarnished
adult
nymph
plant bug
to adult
13
Stink Bug Feeding Behavior

• Conclusions
• Fruit preference
• Bugs prefer green fruit over red fruit
• Life stages
• Adults all nymph stages feed on fruit
• Older nymphs and new adults feed more than
  younger nymphs and older adults
• Tarnished plant bug rarely feeds on tomato fruit
  even if starved

14
Stink Bug on Tomato

• when does it enter tomato fields?
• where does it come from?

15
Stink Bug Scouting, 1998

• Site First damage
• Central Ohio
• Columbus 7/2
• Miami Co. 7/16
• Darke-D 7/15
• Darke-K 7/15
• Darke -H 8/12 (latest)
• Northern Ohio
• Sandusky-H 6/22 (earliest)
• Sandusky-B 7/8
• Sandusky-V 7/6

16
One-Spotted Stink Bug the wheat connection

• 1998 observations in wheat, Fremont
• 15 - 29 May stink bug adults (old)
• 14 - 24 June nymphs
• 29 Jun.-1 Jul. nymphs adults (new)
• 1-2 July adults in combined wheat

17
Stink Bug Dispersal from Wheat to Tomato

• Fremont, 1998 of samples damaged (10 samples/
  bed)
• Wheat Tomatoes
  Soybean
• Bed Bed Bed Bed Bed
• 1 5 10 20 37
• 6/22 0 0 0 0 0
• 7/1 0 0 0 0 0
• 7/2-3 harvest
• 7/6 20 10 10 0 10
• 7/15 0 0 0 0 0
• 7/20 20 50 20 0 10
• 7/29 80 70 40 50 70
• 8/3 30 50 40 30 90
• 8/14 10 50 60 30 50

18
Life History of the One-Spotted Stink
Bug,Euschistus variolarius

• overwinter in alfalfa?
• one generation in wheat, May-June
• move to tomatoes (or soybeans) in July, August

19
Stink Bug Control

• Action threshold?
• Which insecticide?

20
Stink bug development in tomato research field
Fremont Ohio, 1999
30
Spray 8/3
n
n
adult
l
Spray 8/23
nymph
m
20
fruit damage
n
Total number in all plots
n
10
m
n
n
l
l
m
l
m
m
0
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
6/4/99
6/9/99
7/6/99
8/2/99
6/29/99
8/17/99
6/15/99
6/22/99
7/15/99
7/20/99
7/27/99
8/11/99
8/31/99
10 plants _at_ 32 plots
100 fruit _at_ 32 plots
21
Stink Bug Insecticide Trials

• 5 trials
• 1996 1997, Hillsboro
• 1998, Columbus
• 1999 2000, Fremont
• Products tested
• Penncap-M lost after 99
• Warrior
• Thiodan
• Baythroid
• Actara
• All products equally effective

22
Stink Bug Insecticide Trial, 2000
Fremont, Ohio
variety Peto 696
Treated 11 24 August
Harvested 11 September
50
40
Warrior 3.2 oz
Actara 5 oz
30
Actara 4 oz
damaged
Baythroid 2.4 oz
20
Avaunt 3.5 oz
10
Untreated check
0
Red
Breaker
Green
Total
fruit
fruit
fruit
fruit
23
Stink Bug Management

• Scout
• weekly in July, August
• examine 10 fruit at 40 locations/field
• Threshold 0.5 - 1 fruit damage
• (2 - 4 damaged out of 400 fruit)
• Insecticides
• Thiodan
• Warrior
• Baythroid
• Actara
• fresh-market only Monitor