ST. PAUL, Minn.-Insecticide resistance management is not always on the minds of potato growers when faced with menacing crop pests, but straying from the recommended usage guidelines can eventually make the situation much worse.
Russ Groves, Assistant Professor and Extension Vegetable Entomology Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, drives home this point in this latest Focus on Potato webcast, titled "Insecticide Resistance Management Colorado Potato Beetle: a Case Study on Potatoes."
(http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/potato/InsecticideResistanceManagement/)
The Colorado potato beetle has a long history of rapid development of insecticide resistance to nearly all classes of insecticides. And the story of insecticide resistance is again taking place with the battle against this pest in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest.
The Colorado potato beetle has developed resistance to virtually every insecticide used for its control and this includes over 40 active ingredients across several chemical classes which now has begun to include the neonicotinoid class of insecticides.
In this talk, Groves covers the history of resistance in the Colorado Potato Beetle, how insect resistance is calculated, how resistance develops in the field, plus resistance management and reduced risk options.
This talk ultimately stresses the need for continued vigilance in the management of insecticide resistance and strict adherence to integrated pest management strategies which reduce the likelihood and onset of resistance development.
View this and other presentations in the Focus on Potato resource at http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/fop.
This webcast will be freely accessible through May 31, 2012.