International Journal of Pest Management (2003) 49, 95-103

Irene Vänninen (2003)
Control of sciarid flies with Steinernema feltiae in poinsettia cutting production
International Journal of Pest Management 49 (2), 95-103
Abstract: The efficacy of Steinernema feltiae (UK strain) with the nominal concentrations of 0.65 and 1.3 million per table/m² against sciarids (Bradysia spp.) in Jiffy plugs of poinsettia cuttings was studied on sand and ebb-and-flow tables during two summers under commercial production conditions. When plugs without cuttings were sprayed, 31-3% of the nematodes reached the plugs. Nematode treatments reduced the proportion of unrooted cuttings (by about 60% in 1994, but only by 33-37% in 1995), the number of sciarids in the plugs of saleable cuttings and the proportion of plugs infested by sciarids, delayed the infestation of plugs by sciarids by 2 weeks when sciarid infestation pressure was low, or increased root growth by 10-18%. The actual concentration of nematodes per plug needed for a given level of reduction in the number of unrooted cuttings ranged from 500 to 3600 depending on the year. Considering that only about one-third of the nematodes reach the Jiffy plugs upon spraying, the nominal concentration should be at least 4750 per plug to ensure that a sufficient number of nematodes is delivered per plug. Predicting the economic feasibility of preventive nematode treatments in this crop is complicated by the fact that rooting success can be very satisfactory without control measures despite the presence of sciarids. Treatments may still be justifiable to obtain a crop free of sciarids, but in the present study this was possible only when the infestation pressure by adult sciarids was low.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Irene Vänninen

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bradysia (genus)	Euphorbia (crop)
Steinernema feltiae/Xenorhabdus bovienii (entomopathogen)