MANAGEMENT of PEST MOLE CRICKETS USING the INSECT PARASITIC NEMATODE Steinernema Scapterisci

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MANAGEMENT of PEST MOLE CRICKETS USING the INSECT PARASITIC NEMATODE Steinernema Scapterisci MANAGEMENT OF PEST MOLE CRICKETS USING THE INSECT PARASITIC NEMATODE Steinernema scapterisci By KATHRYN ANN BARBARA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 Copyright 2005 by Kathryn Ann Barbara This dissertation is dedicated to my family, Kathleen and Jack Barbara, Anthony, Lara, and Elizabeth Barbara, Lisa, Eric and Ryan Malkowski, Anne Barbara, Ann and Raymond Callahan, John Michael, Kathleen, Melinda, and Maureen Gowdey, Camilla Barbara, James Dunford, and Magnum, the delightful Doberman. Without their love, thoughtfulness and support this would not have been possible. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My heartfelt thanks go to my major advisor, Dr. Eileen Buss. Her guidance, advice, and trust have made this research possible. Dr. Buss has been a mentor in not only my academic life but my personal life as well. I consider myself lucky to have been her first Ph. D. student. I would also like to thank my committee members, Drs. J. Howard Frank, Norman C. Leppla, Grady L. Miller, and especially Khuong B. Nguyen, who has given me the knowledge about nematology to make my degree truly a work of entomology and nematology. I could not have had a better committee. Each has contributed significantly to this work and it would not have been possible without each and every member. This research would not have been possible without the help of many people. I would like to thank the cooperators and their assistants who allowed me to use their sites and were very helpful during my research. Special thanks go to Buddy Keene II, Lloyd J. Brown and Diane Delzell from Gainesville Golf and Country Club; Dave Carson, Kevin Cooke, and Vern Easter from Ironwood Golf Course; Fred Santana from Sarasota County Extension; and Matt Burke from the City of Altamonte Springs. Nematodes and advice on their use were provided by Tom Hinks, Gabe Diaz-Saavedra, and Al Clarke from Becker Underwood and Martin Adjei of the Ona Range Cattle REC. I acknowledge Dr. Tom Walker for mole cricket advice and assistance. I acknowledge Dr. Albrecht Koppenhöfer from Rutgers University for technical advice and methodology for the pesticide compatibility tests. Special thanks go to John iv Fredricks for help with soil sample analysis, Marinela Capanu for help with statistical design and analysis, and Paul Skelley (DPI) for help with SEM photographs. I acknowledge Bayer Environmental Science, Valent Professional Products, and FMC Corporation for donating insecticides used in this study. Special thanks go to Brian Owens at the G. C. Horn Memorial Turfgrass Field Laboratory for his assistance and patience with setting up nightly collections with mole cricket sound callers. Angela Vincent and Shubin Saha assisted in sorting linear pitfall trap samples. I would also like to acknowledge the electronic thesis and dissertation technical staff for their help in formatting and submission of my dissertation. Many thanks go to the Florida Department of Agriculture and the United States Navy for graduate funding. Very special thanks go to the numerous people who helped in my various projects; without them this project would not have been possible. First I would like to thank Paul Ruppert for his assistance in numerous aspects of this study and his patience with me. I also would like to thank Bob Hemenway for rearing supplies, guidance and advice. My gratitude goes to Matthew Stanton and Y. Mike Wang for help with bi-weekly pitfall trap collections and mole cricket rearing. I thank J. Cara Congdon, Jay Cee Turner, Lois Wood, Rebecca Baldwin, Erin Finn, Alejandro Arevalo, Justin Emerson and Brian McElroy for assistance in pitfall trap installation and removal. Special thanks go to Robert Mans and Rachel Davis for help with mole cricket rearing and the dreaded curfew field test. Many thanks go to the University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Department for their support and friendship through the years. Several people I have met along this journey have become more than just my academic and professional peers but have become very good friends. I want to give v special thanks and warm gratitude to J. Cara Congdon and Jay Cee Turner who, while helping me become a better scientist by looking towards me for guidance and advice, have become two of my best friends. I am especially grateful to James Dunford. He has inspired me in all aspects of my life and several ideas in this dissertation were inspired and motivated by him. Jim has given me the opportunity to discover other aspects of entomology outside of my field. My only regret is that I did not meet him sooner. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..............................................1 Mole Crickets................................................................................................................1 Management Practices..................................................................................................4 Chemical Control...................................................................................................4 Non-Chemical Control ..........................................................................................5 Biological Control .................................................................................................5 Insect Parasitic Nematodes....................................................................................6 Objectives ...................................................................................................................10 2 ESTABLISHMENT AND SPREAD OF Steinernema scapterisci ON FLORIDA GOLF COURSES.......................................................................................................12 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................13 Study Sites...........................................................................................................13 Mole Cricket Monitoring.....................................................................................13 Laboratory Assay.................................................................................................15 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................15 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................15 3 SURVIVAL AND INFECTIVITY OF Steinernema scapterisci AFTER CONTACT WITH SOIL DRENCH SOLUTIONS .......................................................................25 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................27 Nematodes and Mole Crickets.............................................................................27 Bioassay...............................................................................................................27 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................30 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................30 vii 4 INTEGRATION OF INSECT PARASITIC NEMATODES WITH INSECTICIDES FOR CONTROL OF PEST MOLE CRICKETS........................................................36 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................37 Survival and Infectivity of S. scapterisci After Exposure to Pesticides..............38 Nematode Infectivity After Exposure to Pesticide Treated Mole Crickets.........39 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................40 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................40 5 EFFECT OF Steinernema scapterisci NGUYEN AND SMART EXPOSURE ON MOLE CRICKET TUNNELING, OVIPOSITION, AND AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR................................................................................................................46 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................47 Nematode Infection and Nematode Treated Areas Effect on Mole Cricket Tunneling Behavior .........................................................................................48 Oviposition Behavior of Mole Crickets Exposed to S. scapterisci .....................50 Y-Tube Tests .......................................................................................................50 Observation Chamber...................................................................................50 Response to S. scapterisci or Pesticides.......................................................51 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................52 Results.........................................................................................................................52
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