|
David J. Schuster Gulf Coast Res. & Educ. Ctr. 5007 60th St. E. Bradenton, FL 34203 Pepper weevil: Anthonomus eugenii Cano | |
|
Transplants were set 3 Mar, 12 inches apart on 8-inch-high and 32-inch-wide beds of EauGallie fine sand covered with black polyethylene mulch. Each plot consisted of a single row of 14 plants with rows on 5 ft centers. Treatments were replicated 4 times in a randomized complete block design and were applied with a 2.5 gal, hand-held CO2-powered sprayer on 13, 19, 26 Apr, 4, 11, 18, 25 May and 2 Jun. The sprayer was outfitted with a single nozzle with a D-5 disk and #45 core and delivered 100 gpa at 60 psi. Because the pepper weevil population was extremely high at the initiation of the trial, all abscised fruit were collected on 27 Apr and all fruit about >0.75 inch in diam were harvested on 3 May. These abscised and harvested fruit were not included in further yield comparisons. Abscised fruit were again collected on 25 May and 8 Jun and the number totaled. Remaining fruit were harvested on 10 June and each was cut laterally to determine whether they were infested with pepper weevil larvae. All data were converted to a per plant basis because of the poor plant stand in some plots.
The pepper weevil population was very high with 88% of the fruit in the check either abscised or infested with weevil larvae. Only Actara at the 38.9 gm rate resulted in significantly fewer fruit per plant damaged internally compared to the check; however, these same treatments also had the most fruit per plant and the most infested fruit per plant. No foliar symptoms of phytotoxicity were observed in the treatments.
| |