Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Insects Which Challenge Global
Wheat Production
David R. Porter, Marion O. Harris, Louis S. Hesler, and
Gary J. Puterka
SUMMARY
The effectiveness of this tactic is highly
variable and dependent on characteristics of
the environment and the pest life cycle.
(6) A variety of chemical insecticides are avail-
able for insect control; however, the cost of
application and the environmental con-
cerns associated with their use reduce their
appeal in wheat production.
(7) Natural enemies of wheat insect pests
provide a level of biological control on pest
populations and can supplement other
components of the IPM approach. Several
parasitoids and predators of important
wheat pests are active in wheat fi elds
worldwide.
(1) Insect pests of wheat are dynamic, adapt-
able, universal, genetically variable, and
persistent.
(2) Damage from insect infestations can vary
from minimal yield and end-use-quality
loss to death of the plant, depending on the
growth stage of the plant and level of
infestation.
(3) In addition to direct feeding damage, many
insects vector important plant diseases,
thus compounding the level of plant injury
and subsequent loss to wheat production.
(4) Recommended control for insect infesta-
tions is via integrated pest management
(IPM) technologies that may include cul-
tural control, chemical control, biological
control, and host-plant resistance.
(5) Cultural control of insect pests depends pri-
marily on avoiding exposure of wheat seed-
lings to pests by manipulating planting date.
(8)
Host-plant resistance serves as the founda-
tion of a successful IPM approach to con-
trolling insect pests. Resistance genes,
found within wheat and from related
species, have been successfully utilized for
many years to dramatically reduce the inci-
dence of insect pest damage.
HESSIAN FLY
of the Hessian fl y, crop failure and losses of mil-
lions of dollars in production are common (Pedigo
2002).
Evidence points to the Hessian fl y having a
center of origin in the Fertile Crescent (Barnes
1956). From there, Hessian fl y populations spread
west throughout the Mediterranean region, north
and west into Europe, and east into central Asia
and Siberia. On islands in the Mediterranean, the
Hessian fl y has been recognized as a pest of wheat
Economic impact and distribution
The Hessian fl y (
Mayetiola destructor
Say) (Color
Plate 20) is an important pest of wheat (Barnes
1956; Berzonsky et al., 2003; Harris et al., 2003).
Throughout a single growing season, several gen-
erations of Hessian fl y can be produced that can
infest winter and spring wheat. During outbreaks
