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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
IPM Enhancement Grants |
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Project Title:
Initiation of an Integrated Regional Response to an Invasive Aphid Pest of Sorghum |
Project Directors (PDs):
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Lead State: TX Lead Organization: Texas A&M AgriLife Research |
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Cooperating State(s):
Louisiana, Oklahoma |
| Undesignated Funding: $30,000 |
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Start Date: Jan-01-2014 End Date: Dec-31-2014 |
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Pests Involved: sorghum/sugarcane aphid |
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Site/Commodity: grain sorghum |
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Area of Emphasis: distribution and damage assessment, economic thresholds, biological control, Extension publications |
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Summary:
An outbreak of an invasive aphid was discovered damaging grain sorghum in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi in 2013. The aphid may be a new variant of sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, which has a high preference for sorghum, or a very closely related species. We designate it sorghum/sugarcane aphid here (SA). Infestations detected were very heavy, often with hundreds of SA per leaf. Leaves became sticky and shiny from honeydew and coated with sooty mold fungus which hampered harvesting operations. The early distribution and damage evaluation assessment showed the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast as a core zone, high economic impact in this area and the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and rapid spread to central Texas, and northern counties bordering the Red River (22 total infested counties confirmed in Texas), parishes from southwest to northeast Louisiana (16 parishes), and into southern Oklahoma (one county) and the Mississippi Delta (one county in Mississippi).
With our current state of knowledge, the infestation zone is spread across an approximate 2 million acres of grain sorghum production, and early 2013 grower and University personnel reporting indicates about 10% of fields infested, with 25 to 50% or more of fields infested with economic populations in some areas of south Texas. Using a $8.00 per hundred weight of grain market value, harvest potential of 3,000 lbs/area, and a yield loss range of 20 to 50% reported in 2013, a potential economic impact of $5.6M to $62.5M annually is feasible. Fall populations on remnant sorghum of harvested fields and johnson grass have been detected in many of these counties, positioning the aphid for outbreaks next year and potential for continued range expansion into western Texas, Arkansas, and the Mississippi Delta. Early insecticide trials have identified early management options, and natural enemies have been observed preying on and parasitizing SA. This one-year seed project will allow strategic funded activities in the core zone of the current infestation, and sharing and coordination of research and Extension materials regionally in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The objectives focus on activities that initiate the development, support, and Extension dissemination of IPM tactics that have good attributes of sustainability and economic viability in the production system, and minimal adverse environmental and human impact (i.e., biological control, economic thresholds and insect monitoring to complement the shorter-term insecticide controls that are being investigated and funded through other support). These seed project deliverables are key attributes of sound IPM management as promoted in the National IPM Roadmap and the IPM discipline. Regional team building and planning for a larger response is another key component of this one-year seed project, which will position us to address greater regional risk to southern sorghum production should the outbreak continue to expand beyond the current impacted acreage. Objectives: This one-year seed project will allow strategic funded activities in the core zone of the current infestation where about 0.75 to 1.0 million acres of grain sorghum is grown, and sharing and coordination of research and Extension materials regionally in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Regional team building and planning for a larger response is another key component of this one-year seed project, which will position us to address greater regional risk to southern sorghum production should the outbreak continue to expand (with option for project participation in objective 3 with Arkansas and Mississippi). The objectives focus on activities that initiate the development, support, and Extension dissemination of IPM program components that have good attributes of sustainability and economic viability in the production system, and minimal adverse environmental and human impact (i.e., biological control, economic thresholds and insect monitoring to complement the shorter-term insecticide controls that are being investigated and funded through other support). The specific project objectives of this seed project are: 1. Survey for presence and temporal/spatial distribution of the SA and its natural enemies. 2. Establish damage evaluation/threshold experiments in Texas and coordinate this activity with research in Louisiana. 3. Develop and distribute multi-state Extension materials using information from the above activities and our regional cooperators, and establish a coordinated Extension and research multi-state plan of action, currently including Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma (with options to include Arkansas and Mississippi). |
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Final Report: |
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Impacts The in-season information on distribution and range expansion of the sugarcane aphid on sorghum was used by growers and pest management specialists in the core infestation areas of South Texas and Louisiana for timing in-season monitoring. The sampling protocols and an early version of economic thresholds were used by early adopters. Information delivered was used by others beyond our project group to first detect aphids, which resulted in the documentation of the major expansion of this aphid on sorghum through the south (from Texas to the southeastern states) and north through the Great Plains (from the Texas Panhandle to southern Kansas). Sorghum grain losses of 2.5 to 4.1 bushels per 100 aphids per leaf were estimated from our work. These findings were distributed to growers through webinars, web-posted updates, and local and state-wide presentations. Audience surveys indicated an increase in pest and insecticide use awareness, and increase of knowledge of monitoring protocols and economic thresholds. In South Texas, these activities aided in the effectively control of the sugarcane aphid over about 400,000 acres of sorghum, at an estimated cost of control of $5 million and a benefit from protecting harvest of $25 to $50 million for project year 2014. With a 2.5 geographic range expansion of the aphid by the end of 2014, a doubling of savings ($50 to $100 million annually) from prevention of grain loss using the results of this project is a conservation impact estimate for out years of this project. |
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Outcomes A sorghum project was initiated in response to an invasive aphid, sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, discovered damaging grain sorghum, as supported by the Southern Region IPM Center and state sorghum grower associations in 2014. Most activities were duplicated in multiple locations in South Texas and Louisiana of the project area, and cooperators aided in aphid detection activities. Damaging populations expanded from five states in 2013 to twelve states in 2014, from Texas to South Carolina, and South Texas to southern Kansas. Natural enemy diversity was high in South Texas during the second year of major infestations occurring in this area. The complex detected consisted of syrphid flies, at least three species of lady bugs, green lacewings, and one new species of aphelinid parasitoid. Natural enemy densities increased by July although after most insecticide use decisions were made. Future activities in natural enemy impact assessment were formulated. Natural enemies were detected in new areas of infestation, but at much lower densities. As a result, protocols for early detection and aphid density estimation have been established (obj. 1). A replicated threshold experiment was designed to time foliar insecticides. Sprays were initiated at 50, 100, 250, and 500 aphids per leaf with a no-spray control were used. The experiment also included sorghum lines susceptible and suspected to be resistant to the aphid. The insecticide used (Transform, selected from the insecticide work supported by partnering groups) held densities to below 5 aphids per leaf for a two or three week window using the 50 to 250 spray thresholds. Parasitoid activity was only modestly reduced at the 250 aphids/leaf threshold. Few insecticide applications were triggered on the resistant sorghum. Based on these data, a regional economic threshold of 50 to 125 aphids per leaf pre-head emergence was calculated using Pedigos method. It is appropriate under most current economics, aphid growth potential, and natural enemy activity (obj. 2). In-season information distributed to program participates and a larger body of cooperators was used to assist growers and pest management consultants to time detection and monitoring activities. Most notably, this took the form of a regularly updated southern and central US distribution map of sugarcane aphid on sorghum. As the aphids range expanded, other entomologists were added to our communications network and provided detection information in their area of responsibility. Multiple presentations were given at grower and professional meetings, including at crop tours and seminars, professional meetings, and county and industry sponsored events (obj. 3). In addition, the data obtained from this one year project were used to develop a federal proposal that was recently funded from the Applied Research and Development component of the USDA NIFI Crop Protection and Pest Management program. Funds from Texas and Louisiana sorghum grower associations also supplemented the awards. |
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