The brown marmorated stink bug is considered to be an agricultural pest. It feeds on a wide variety of host plants. Fruits attacked include apples, peaches, figs, mulberries, citrus fruits, and persimmons. This true bug has also been reported on many ornamental plants, weeds, soybeans, and beans for human consumption.
This insect is becoming an important agricultural pest all around the world.
In 2010, it produced severe losses in some apple and peach orchards by damaging peaches and apples. It also has been found feeding on blackberry, sweet corn, field corn, and soybeans. It has also been observed damaging tomatoes, lima bean, and green peppers.
Physical damage to fruit includes pitting and scarring, sometimes leading to a mealy texture. This injury makes the fruit unmarketable as a fresh product and in severe cases can even render the crop unusable for processed products.
The brown marmorated stink bug also feeds on leaves, and a characteristic symptom of leaf injury is stippled areas approximately 1/8 inch in diameter around feeding sites. In addition to physical damage, wounds caused by feeding can provide an entryway for a disease to attack the host fruit or plant.
In field crops, damage caused by brown marmorated stink bug is not usually evident immediately upon visual inspection. For instance, in corn the stink bugs feed through the husk, piercing kernels and sucking out the juice resulting in shriveled kernels. Stink bug feeding in soybeans is similar to corn, where the bugs pierce the pods and suck juices out of the seeds. One visual symptom of brown marmorated stink bug feeding in soybeans is referred to as the “stay green” effect, where injured soybean plants stay green later into the season while other plants in the field senesce as usual.
This species has a single generation per year depending on the temperatures. Warm spring and summer conditions could permit the development of two or three generations. However, in parts of sub-tropical China, records indicate from four to possibly six generations per year. Adults will emerge sometime in the spring of the year (late April to mid-May), and mate and deposit eggs from May through August. The eggs hatch into small black and red nymphs that go through five molts. Adults begin to search for overwintering sites starting in September through the first half of October.
These insects can produce allergic reactions like rhinitis or conjunctivitis in some individuals who are sensitive to the bugs odor. These chemicals are produced by dorsal scent glands. Additionally, if the insects are crushed or smashed against exposed skin they have been reported to produce dermatitis at the point of contact. This is particularly important for agricultural workers picking fruits and vegetables.
They not only affect the agriculture but also try to enter the living areas of the home Typically, stink bugs will emerge from cracks, under or behind baseboards, around window and door trim, and around exhaust fans or lights in ceilings.
Managing this pest species is challenging because there are currently few effective pesticides that are labeled for use against them
It is also not advisable to use an insecticide against these bugs as they directly attack the crop. The insecticides are highly toxic and can damage the nervous system of a human being.
Hence I need a more eco-friendly solution to combat the menace caused by stink bugs.
Let us have a look at the menace caused by these species on agriculture.
Stink Bugs on the Move in Soybeans
August 4, 2017
According to the article published in agweb.com by Ms. Brooks-Director at Farm Journal Media.
“In 2016 a number of farmers had significant stink bug damage but didn’t realize it until harvest, when they discovered shriveled, blasted seeds,” Tilmon and Michel report in the latest issue of C.O.R.N. newsletter. “Both nymphs and adults feed on the developing seed by using their piercing/sucking mouthparts to poke through the pod. The seed that is fed upon will take a flat or shriveled appearance.”
There are several species of stink bugs that can be found in soybean, including the green, the brown, the red-shouldered and the brown marmorated stink bug.
The heaviest populations of stink bug are usually found in the Eastern Corn Belt, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region, but the BMSB is increasingly found in the central U.S.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension entomologists is encouraging soybean farmers in the state to scout for stink bug this season. “Planting dates were late in many areas and cool weather has slowed plant growth, leading to delayed maturity in many areas. These late maturing crops may remain vulnerable to pest injury longer than usual,” they write in the online newsletter Cropwatch.
Ohio’s Tilmon and Michel write that seed damage can be prevented by scouting and treatment at appropriate threshold levels:
“Most insecticides labeled for soybean include stink bugs on the label, and most are adequately effective. Keep in mind it is easier to kill immatures than adults. To sample for stink bugs, take multiple 10-sweep samples with a sweep net in multiple locations throughout the field. Average the number of stink bugs in the 10-sweep samples. The threshold to treat is four or more stink bugs. If soybeans are being grown for seed, the threshold can be dropped to two or more stink bugs.”
Stink bugs pose the increasing threat in Midwest
July 03, 2017
This news article was published by Ms. Atyeo in tristateneighbor.com.
Stink bugs are a pest South Dakota corn growers might not be accustomed to checking for, but they’re becoming a greater threat in northern states, and they can harm corn early in the season and move on before you know it.
The bugs are named for the musty smell they make when crushed. There are some species native to the Midwest, but it’s the brown marmorated stink bug that has been moving in from southern states that poses a bigger threat to corn and soybean crops.
The brown marmorated stink bug was found for the first time last year by Minnesota observers. Jami Loecker is an agronomist with Syngenta in eastern Kansas.
“In the Midwest, it’s kind of been an overlooked issue,” she said. “No doubt it’s increasing. ”Even the native bugs – the green, brown and one-spotted stink bugs – are a threat as their populations increase. The conditions are right this year for bugs to thrive because a mild winter allowed more to survive.
In harvest time revealed an abundance of stink bug damaged soybean samples, according to Dr. Kelley Tilmon, extension pest specialist. “It’s not just a southern problem anymore,” Loecker said.
Stink bugs can be a threat to corn from the time it emerges through its reproductive stages, with later season injury being particularity detrimental. The bugs pierce the plant with their mouths and insert an enzyme to pre-digest it.
“They’re robbing the plant of what it needs to live effectively and produce yield,” Loecker said.
Not only are they feeding on the crop, but the injury also gives diseases a spot to attack. Soybeans are most at risk during pod development. Stink bugs like to feed on the pod and seeds. Soybeans with stink bug damage produce small, shrunken seeds.
Stink bug damage in corn is usually overlooked, especially early in the season, Loecker said.
The bugs feed on the outside of the leaves as they are unfurling. The damage looks like small holes across corn leaf. It may also feed on the whorl. Later, they feed on the ear
“It’s really important we inform ourselves,” she said recently. “They’re robbing yields that we don’t even know about.”
To combat this nuisance we need to find ways that are eco-friendly and sustainable.
The solution to this is with C Tech Corporation.
Taking into mind the problems faced by the farmers C Tech Corporation has developed this unique product Combirepel™that is been made from green technology. It is 100% eco-friendly, non-hazardous and non-toxic. It is also an environmentally safe insect repellent.
It can repel more than 500 species of insects on account of it being a broad spectrum anti-insect repellent. The most striking feature of Combirepel™ is that it neither kills the target species, nor the non-target species. It will simply keep the insects away from the application.
Our product works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects. The product impairs the ability of the insects to reproduce, that is the insects will not lay eggs or the laid eggs will be infertile. The product causes feeding disruption in an insect by triggering an unpleasant reaction within the insect which might try to feed on the application. The product temporarily blocks the reproduction system of the insects by hindering the release of the vital hormones for growth.
The product available in the form of masterbatch can be incorporated into the base polymer of the polymeric applications like the wires and cables, pipes, household utilities, etc. to keep the pest away from the application.
The product available in the form of liquid concentrate can be mixed in paints and be applied on the interior and exterior of the houses, schools, hospitals, warehouses, offices etc. to keep these areas safe from these pests.
The product available in the form of lacquer form can be used as a direct application. The lacquer can be applied to the already installed applications like the wires and cable, pipes, metal decors, racks and pallets from stores rooms etc.
Combirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.
Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.
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