Effect of Insecticides on Celery Insects, 2016

Celery was transplanted in a sandy loam type soil on 18 Oct 2016 at Agricultural Operations, University of California, Riverside, CA. The plants were drip-irrigated (water pH: 7.2–7.5). Experimental plots were three beds wide (two rows per bed) on 60-inch centers by 40-ft long and separated by a 3-ft buffer with four replicates of each treatment in an RCB design. The foliar insecticide spray applications were initiated on 14 Dec and continued through 31 Jan. The low-input treatment rotation included Exirel 100 SE (14 Dec and 18 Jan), Radiant 1.0 SC (5 Jan), Sequoia 1.0 SC (18 Jan), and Dipel DF (31 Jan). VST-006340 plus Dipel was applied on (14 and 20 Dec; 5, 12, 18, and 31 Jan). The Dipel treatment was applied on (14 and 20 Dec; 5, 12, 18, and 31 Jan). The VST-006340 treatment was applied on (14 and 20 Dec; 5, 12, 18, and 31 Jan). The Asana treatment was applied on (14 and 20 Dec; 5, 12, 18, and 31 Jan). All insecticide treatments were applied using a tractor-mounted boom sprayer with four nozzles per bed, operated at 100 psi, and delivering 100 gpa of spray solution in the carrier (H₂O) except for the VST treatments, which were applied at 50 gpa. Disc-type cone nozzles incorporated D3 orifice discs, # 25 cores, and 50-mesh screens. All insecticide treatments included LI-700 at 0.125% vol/vol except the Low Input and Asana treatments, which used Dyne-Amic at 0.25% vol/vol. The treatments are listed in Table 1. Damage by CA, BAW, and BCW were based on numbers of damaged plants found in 25 plants per plot from the center two rows on 16 Feb. Each celery stalk was cut apart and visually inspected for feeding damage by CA, BAW, and BCW. BCW damage is found primarily in the heart of the plant. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and Fisher’s protected LSD analysis to detect differences among treatment means.

Efficacy results from various insecticide treatments against lepidopterous and CA pests are presented in Table 1. BAW damage was high during the study; the check suffered 20% damage. BCW and LM pressure were very low this season. Significant differences were seen between treatments for BAW. CA was seen in the field this year, but there were no significant differences between treatments. There were no phytotoxic effects in any of the treatments.

This research was supported by industry gifts of pesticide and/or research funding, and a grant from the Celery Research Advisory Board.