D3303: Cucumber beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) management using pheromones as a trapping technique

Damage caused by striped (Acalymma vittatum) and spotted (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) cucumber beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to cucurbits is a critical problem for vegetable growers especially organic growers and small farmers. Although most of these farmers follow Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices and use insecticides sparingly, cucumber beetle management is still a significant problem for them. In addition, organic growers have only a few OMRI-approved insecticides for pest management. Thus, there is a need to find cost-effective, environmentally sound, and IPM-based management practices to manage the cucumber beetles. Using an effective trapping method to manage cucumber beetles is a sustainable pest management practice for conventional and organic cucurbit growers. Trapping is comparatively less expensive than insecticides and can be used to reduce pest pressure. It is also not harmful to beneficial arthropods, i. e. natural enemies and pollinators existing in these cropping systems. This study aimed to find the effectiveness of a commercially available lure/attractant (a blend of cucumber beetle pheromones) as a trapping method for cucumber beetle management. We used cucumber as our target crop that was planted using a randomized complete block design with four blocks and trellis netting for climbing support to evaluate the season-wide effectiveness of the lure on trapping striped and spotted cucumber beetles in 2022 and 2023. Seventy-two percent of the cucumber beetles collected from traps were striped cucumber beetles. The results are discussed in detail.