Management of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in US Specialty Crops

Drs. Bessin, Obrycki, and Villanueva will participate in various aspects of this proposal. Specifically the Kentucky team will direct a graduate student who will work on subobjectives 2.a.1 (range of T. japonicus), 2.a.ii (assist with field releases of T. japonicus pending approval), 2.a.ii (assessing impact of T. japonicus on BMSB and native stink bugs), 2.b.i (estimate the species composition of stink bug egg parasitoids on BMSB), 2.b.ii (measure native parasitism impacts on BMSB and natives stink bugs in various crops), 2.c.i (determine predator species composition on BMSB), 2.c.ii (measure predation impacts on BMSB in different crops), 3.a.1 (optimize pheromone trap monitoring of BMSB), and 3.b (continue to develop management tactics to compliment chemical control). Dr. Obrycki brings experience with biological control of agricultural pests while Drs. Bessin and Villanueva have extensive experience with managing stink bugs and other pests of specialty crops. The studies will be conducts at the UK research stations in Lexington and Princeton during each year of the project, as well as on commercial farms in Yr 5.