Seasonal Phenology, Management, and Host Preferences of Potato Leafhopper on Nursery-Grown Maples
Seasonal phenology and control of the potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae (Harris)) on red maples (Acer rubrum L.) were studied for three years in nurseries in central Kentucky. Migratory adult leafhoppers were first captured on yellow sticky traps in early May. Peak population density ranged from late May to late June. The second flush of leaves was most heavily damaged in each year. Foliar sprays of cyfluthrin (Tempo 2), a synthetic pyrethroid, beginning 1 to 2 weeks after first capture of leathoppers and repeated at biweekly intervals during May and June, greatly reduced symptoms of injury. Acephate (Orthene) was less effective than cyfluthrin, whereas treatment of the soil with disulfoton (Di-syston) was ineffective. Oviposition and development of the leafhopper on red maple were confirmed. Field evaluations of selected cultivars showed that red maples were more severely damaged than sugar (A. saccharum L.) or Norway (A. platanoides L.) maples. ‘Autumn Blaze’, an A. rubrum × saccharinum hybrid, was relatively resistant.Abstract
Contributor Notes
Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article No.93-7-9. This work was supported in part by the Louis & Martha Hillenmeyer Grant administered by the Horticultural Research Institute, Inc., 1250 I Street, N.W.. Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, and by the Kentucky Nurserymen's Assoc.
2The authors wish to thank the staffs of Waterford Valley Nursery, Taylorsville, and Hillenmeyer Nurseries, Lexington, for their cooperation. Cory Orchard & Turf, Louisville, donated insecticides. We also thank G. M. Timmons for calling our attention to this problem, J. C. Parr for assistance with sampling for eggs, and P. F. Freytag for verifying identity of the leafhoppers.