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EFFECTS OF INTERCROPPING AND BIOLOGICAL INSECTICIDES ON SUGARCANE APHID (HEMIPTERA: APHIDIDAE) INFESTATIONS ON SORGHUM, AND IDENTIFICATION OF NATURAL ENEMIES AND ALTERNATE HOSTS IN HAITI By WILFRID CALVIN 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 2019 © 2019 Wilfrid Calvin To Jehovah, Issa, Calissa, Amelise, and Mercilhome ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank God for always holding my hand through every step in my life. I am also grateful to my family for their unfailing support throughout my life. I would like to thank my lovely wife for her undying assistance and constant encouragement during my study period. Special thanks to my adorable daughter who endured with love such a long period of time away from daddy to make this achievement possible. I thank Dr. Julien Beuzelin, my committee chair, for all his guidance and support during my master’s study. My committee members, Drs. Oscar Liburd and Marc Branham, have also provided useful advice and support for which I am so thankful. I am also thankful to Mr. Ludger Jean Simon for his support toward the success of the experiments conducted in Haiti. I would like to thank Dr. Elijah Talamas for his help identifying insect samples from Haiti. I thank Donna Larsen for providing technical assistance in all experiments conducted at the UF/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center (EREC) and for all the help to make my stay in Belle Glade successful. I am also thankful to Erik Roldán for all his help during my master’s program. Blanc Sylvain, Ludger Roland, Joab Calvin, Jean Benito Chery, Anne Metushelah Eliscar, Rochelin Zakary, Wikenson Dérival, and Amir Avila provided technical assistance for which I am so grateful. I thank USAID project Feed the Future Haiti / Appui à la Recherche et au Développement Agricole (AREA) for granting me the opportunity to pursue this Master of Science degree at the University of Florida. I am also thankful to all the EREC staff, faculty, and students for all their supports without which my time in Belle glade would have been unbearable. My Haitian friends at the University of Florida have helped me to make this journey possible and I will always be grateful. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 7 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 8 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 11 Importance of Sorghum in Haiti .............................................................................. 11 Pest Status of the Sugarcane Aphid on Sorghum ................................................... 11 Sugarcane Aphid Biology ........................................................................................ 12 Sugarcane Aphid Predators and Parasitoids .......................................................... 13 Entomopathogens and Potential Role in Sugarcane Aphid Management............... 14 Conventional Insecticides for Sugarcane Aphid Management ................................ 17 Botanical Insecticides ............................................................................................. 17 Host Plant Resistance and Cultural Practices ......................................................... 19 Research Objectives ............................................................................................... 21 2 EFFECTS OF SORGHUM INTERCROPPING WITH MAIZE AND PIGEON PEA ON SUGARCANE APHID (HEMIPTERA: APHIDIDAE) INFESTATIONS ON SORGHUM AND IDENTIFICATION OF SUGARCANE APHID NATURAL ENEMIES AND ALTERNATE HOSTS IN HAITI ..................................................... 22 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 25 Experimental Field Plots ................................................................................... 25 Sugarcane Aphid Sampling on Sorghum ......................................................... 26 Sorghum Growth and Yield Determination ....................................................... 26 Sugarcane Aphid Natural Enemy Sampling ..................................................... 27 Sugarcane Aphid Alternate Host Sampling ...................................................... 28 Statistical Analysis ............................................................................................ 29 Results .................................................................................................................... 30 Sugarcane Aphid Infestations on Sorghum ...................................................... 30 Sorghum Growth and Yield .............................................................................. 31 Sugarcane Aphid Natural Enemies .................................................................. 32 Sugarcane Aphid Alternate Hosts .................................................................... 32 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 33 3 EFFECTS OF BIOLOGICAL INSECTICIDES ON SUGARCANE APHID (HEMIPTERA: APHIDIDAE) INFESTATIONS ON SORGHUM .............................. 42 5 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 45 Experimental Treatments ................................................................................. 45 Aphid Colony .................................................................................................... 46 Laboratory Experiment ..................................................................................... 47 Greenhouse Experiments ................................................................................. 48 Field Experiments ............................................................................................. 49 Statistical Analysis ............................................................................................ 50 Results .................................................................................................................... 51 Laboratory Experiment ..................................................................................... 51 Greenhouse Experiments ................................................................................. 52 Field Experiments ............................................................................................. 52 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 53 4 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 63 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 77 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 2-1 Cumulative aphid days (CAD) for sugarcane aphids infesting sorghum in sorghum, sorghum-maize, and sorghum-pigeon pea plots, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, October-December 2018. .......................................................................... 37 2-2 Cumulative aphid days (CAD) for sugarcane aphids infesting sorghum in sorghum, sorghum-maize, and sorghum-pigeon pea plots, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, March-May 2019. ...................................................................................... 38 2-3 Sorghum plant height and stem diameter comparisons in intercropping experiments, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2018 and 2019. ............................................. 39 2-4 Sorghum yield comparisons in intercropping experiments, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2018 and 2019. ......................................................................................... 40 2-5 Mean number of insects collected with a sweep net in intercropping experiments, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2018 and 2019. ............................................. 40 2-6 Number of sugarcane aphids found on itchgrass, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2018 and 2019. ........................................................................................................... 41 3-1 Sugarcane aphid infestation levels on sorghum plants as affected by the application of biological insecticides and vetiver oil in the greenhouse, Belle Glade, FL, summer 2018. ................................................................................... 59 3-2 Sugarcane aphid infestation levels as affected by insecticide treatment and post-treatment observation date in three field experiments, Belle Glade, FL, 2018 and 2019. ................................................................................................... 61 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 2-1 Sorghum plant height and stem diameter (LS means) as affected by intercropping treatment, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2018. ............................................ 37 2-2 Sorghum plant height and stem diameter (LS means) as affected by intercropping treatment, Jonc-Labeille, Haiti, 2019. ...........................................