BILLBUG (Sphenophorus Spp.) COMPOSITION, ABUNDANCE, SEASONAL ACTIVITY, DEVELOPMENT TIME, CULTIVAR PREFERENCE, and RESPONSE to ENDOPHYTIC RYEGRASS in FLORIDA
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BILLBUG (Sphenophorus spp.) COMPOSITION, ABUNDANCE, SEASONAL ACTIVITY, DEVELOPMENT TIME, CULTIVAR PREFERENCE, AND RESPONSE TO ENDOPHYTIC RYEGRASS IN FLORIDA By TA-I HUANG A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Ta-I Huang 2 To my dear parents 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I sincerely thank Dr. Eileen A. Buss, my supervisory committee chair, for her support and guidance and for giving me an opportunity for my professional and personal growth. She has been a role model of professional honesty, work ethic, enthusiasm and dedication balanced with love and care in the personal life, which will inspire me throughout my further career. Working with Dr. Buss was enjoyable and rewarding. I want to acknowledge my supervisory committee members (Dr. Marc Branham and Dr. Kevin Kenworthy) for their contribution. I am grateful for the research sites, assistance and cooperation provided by Mark Kann (University of Florida Plant Science Unit in Citra, FL), Michael Rowe (Gainesville Golf and Country Club), Mark Dickson (WestEnd Country Club), Frank Sbarro (LaGorce Country Club), Sean Anderson (Card Sound Golf Club), Dr. Leah Brilman from Seed Research of Oregon who provided me with seed product, and the Scotts Company provided me the ryegrass seeds. I want to thank all of my lab partners who helped me with my research: Cara Vazquez, Olga Kostromytska, Jessica Platt, Paul Ruppert, Jade Cash, Megan Gilbert, and Rachel Sheahanand. I also would like to thank Dr. Michael Thomas (Division of Plant Industries) and Lyle Buss (University of Florida) for their help. I am grateful for the funding provided by the Florida Turfgrass Association, Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association, and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................8 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................11 Warm Season Grasses in North America ...............................................................................11 Common Arthropod Pests of Bermudagrass ..........................................................................11 Billbugs Sphenophorus spp. in the United States...................................................................12 Sphenophorus venatus vestitus in the Southeastern United States .........................................13 Billbug Integrated Pest Management......................................................................................14 2 BIOLOGY AND SEASONAL PHENOLOGY OF BILLBUGS, Sphenophorus spp., IN FLORIDA...............................................................................................................................16 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................17 Composition, Abundance, and Seasonal Activity of Sphenophorus spp. in Florida.......17 Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Adult Activity Patterns, Fecundity and Generation Time .............................................................................................................................18 Adult daily activity patterns .....................................................................................18 Potential fecundity and egg development of S. venatus vestitus..............................19 Variation of adult S. venatus vestitus body size .......................................................20 Length of S. venatus vestitus Development in Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass.......20 Larval instar determination ......................................................................................21 Results.....................................................................................................................................21 Composition, Abundance, and Seasonal Activity of Sphenophorus spp. in Florida.......21 Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Adult Activity Patterns, Fecundity and Generation Time .............................................................................................................................23 Adult daily activity patterns .....................................................................................23 Potential fecundity and egg development of S. venatus vestitus..............................23 Variation of adult S. venatus vestitus body size .......................................................24 Length of S. venatus vestitus development in bermudagrass and zoysiagrass.........24 Larval instar determination ......................................................................................25 Discussion...............................................................................................................................25 3 EVALUATION OF BEMUDAGRASS AND ZOYSIAGRASS RESISTANCE TO Sphenophorus venatus vestitus ...............................................................................................42 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................43 Damage potential of adult S. venatus vestitus on Fur Brmudagrass Cltivars..................43 5 Plant material............................................................................................................43 Adult damage potential ............................................................................................43 Bermudagrass Cltivar Peference Test .............................................................................44 Plant material............................................................................................................44 Preference evaluation ...............................................................................................44 Zoysiagrass Cultivar Resistance to S. venatus vestitus ...................................................44 Plant material............................................................................................................44 Resistance evaluation ...............................................................................................45 Results and Discussion ...........................................................................................................46 Damage Potential of Adult S. venatus vestitus on Four Bermudagrass Cultivars...........46 Bermudagrass Cultivar Preference Test ..........................................................................46 Zoysiagrass Cultivar Resistance to S. venatus vestitus ...................................................47 4 EFFECT OF ENDOPHYTE LEVEL IN PERENNIAL RYEGRASS ON THE SURVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT OF Sphenophorus venatus vestitus............................56 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................57 Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Survival, Development, and Damage on Four Endoyphytic Perennial Ryegrass Cultivars..................................................................57 Impact of Overseeding Two Bermudagrass Cultivars with Endophytic Perennial Ryegrass on S. venatus vestitus Survival, Development, and Damage.......................57 Overseeded Bermudagrass Field Trial ............................................................................58 Results and Discussion ...........................................................................................................59 Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Survival, Development, and Damage on Four Endoyphytic Perennial Ryegrass Cultivars..................................................................59 Impact of Overseeding Two Bermudagrass Cultivars with Endophytic Perennial Ryegrass on S. venatus vestitus Survival, Development, and Damage .......................59 Overseeded Bermudagrass Field Trial ............................................................................60 APPENDIX A EVALUATION OF BEMUDAGRASS RESISTANCE TO Sphenophorus inaequalis........63 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................63 Damage Potential of Adult S. inaequalis on Four Bermudagrass Cultivars ...................63 Plant material............................................................................................................63 Adult damage potential ............................................................................................63 Results and Discussion ...........................................................................................................64 Damage Potential of Adult S. inaequalis on Four Bermudagrass Cultivars ...................64 LIST OF REFERENCES...............................................................................................................66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................71 6 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2-1 Total number of Sphenophorus spp. collected from four linear pitfall traps