Dominic Reisig

Farm Bill. We will be assessing dispersal capacity and associative mating factors for Helicoverpa zea.

Genetically modified crops incorporating Bt traits targeting insect pests are widely adopted in the US, but they are now threatened by the evolution of resistance. The only method growers can use to delay resistance is to plant non-Bt refuges. However, even though this is legally required in the southern US, grower compliance is very low since it is a common pool resource. Past efforts to boost refuge compliance have failed, with a few limitations, including appeals to emotion and a moral suasion campaign. Based on past experimental evidence, we hypothesize that refuge compliance is higher among growers with a higher proportion of conditional cooperators and that conditional cooperation is a potential solution to delay the evolution of resistance to Bt for US growers. Our objectives are to: 1) measure conditional cooperation to identify groups with high and low conditional cooperation with North Carolina corn growers; 2) target extension efforts on refuge and resistance management at areas with high conditional cooperation in another domain; and 3) measure the outcome of refuge planting in the treatment areas. We will combine elements of moral suasion and appeals to emotion to facilitate cooperation and increase refuge compliance across the southern US.

Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus, is the costliest and most problematic insect pest of corn in the southeastern US, and a major pest of soybean and cotton across the southeastern US and Midsouth. Our objectives are to 1. Measure stink bug populations in suitable host crops during the autumn where corn will be planted during the spring 2. Characterize overwintering habitats based on the categorization of host plants or forest structure 3. Measure brown stink bug colonization into spring corn adjacent to non-crop overwintering habitats and annual crops. 4. Estimate stink bug injury in focal corn fields 5. Assess corn yields relative to stink bug density and landscape features 6. Identify landscapes at risk for infestation by brown stink bug and create a risk map for the southeastern US 7. Document baselines for management of brown stink bug in field crops and disseminate brown stink bug risk management recommendation to relevant stakeholders

The objectives of this project are to 1. train county agents on corn agronomy and corn pests 2. quantify the cost difference in growing non-Bt and Bt corn and 3. increase plantings of refuge (non-Bt) corn.

The development of new insecticides in peanuts has been limited in recent years. There is a dire need for new products against rootworms and spider mites. The fear of insecticide resistance and the recent loss of older products (Lorsban®) makes the need to investigate new products more critical. The threat of new pests such as burrower bugs also requires the development of more robust insect management strategies than currently exist. Insecticide development is not only prohibited by the cost of registering new insecticides, inconsistent insect infestations that limit the use of some products in certain years, but also the comparatively small acreage for peanuts. As a result, peanuts are considered a low priority for new insecticide products and the companies have provided very little funding to support peanut insecticide research. We do have very specific needs for further insecticide evaluations to update cost-effective insect control in North Carolina peanuts. This project will provide an increased evaluation of recently developed products beyond what the agrichemical industry has been willing to support the past ten years. Currently, peanut entomology is in a time of transition from the leadership of Rick Brandenburg (now on phased retirement) into a maintenance phase to keep the program viable until the position is refilled. The key element is keeping Brian Royals employed and on task conducting numerous trials to solve the continuing insect management concerns while maintaining program productivity. Funding for this project will be combined with limited agrichemical industry funding to further build a viable screening program by funding a portion of a technician’s salary, and vehicle fuel and maintenance costs.

The objectives of this project are for the NCSU investigator to: (1) Compare various Smart Traps for precision and accuracy relative to capturing the Stink Bugs; (2) Characterize the stink bug species complex in soybean relative to pheromone trap capture; (3) Link trap catches to in-field stink bug phenology to trigger insecticide application; and (4) Calculate growing degree days.

Investigator will direct establishment and conduct of trial described in protocol. Investigator will direct collection and reporting of data as outlined in protocol and handle any disposition of trial materials necessary.

There is tremendous interest from growers and the agricultural industry on the soybean production issues that arise across the state annually. To date, this information has only been available through word-of-mouth, however having real-time access to this knowledge could be transformative in informing scouting and subsequent management decisions. This foundational project will support utilizing technology and strong relationships across the North Carolina soybean sector to develop a dynamic webpage that captures soybean production issues and summarizes them in a publicly available, visually appealing, and educational format for the benefit of the North Carolina soybean sector. A collaborative group of Extension Agents, Consultants, Private Industry, the NC State Plant Disease and Insect Clinic, and NC State Extension Specialists will collaboratively develop a public facing webpage (available through NC State and the NC Soybean Producers Association) that will house arising issues from the field and provide concise information about the issues, associated photos, and recommendations to resolve the issue when appropriate. The collaborating individuals will submit information associated with field problems using an app and the program manager will summarize this information and populate it into the public facing webpage. We envision 2023 as a beta-testing year and the webpage will be improved and expanded upon in subsequent years. We intend to invite broader collaborators to contribute to the webpage in subsequent years but will focus on a subgroup of collaborators during the beta-testing phase to ensure we can handle the initial process with excellence. The webpage developed through this project amplifies currently available soybean expertise across the state into educational benefit for the North Carolina soybean sector and beyond.

The objective of this research is to advance the early generations of USDA soybean breeding materials in the USDA-ARS Puerto Rico nursery, during the NC off-season. Use of the winter nursery will reduce the time to develop soybean lines adapted to NC and other Southeastern states with high yield, drought tolerance, nematode resistance, higher protein, improved oil quality and other traits of interest to the growers and help stay competitive with other public and private soybean breeding programs in the Southeast.

North Carolina soybean defoliation thresholds are very low and not in line with other thresholds from the southeastern US. Our thresholds are based on work that found that a full-season soybean with a determinate growth habit over 50 years ago. Obviously, this is not applicable to today’s production systems. This proposal seeks to make a first step at evaluating these thresholds in production systems that are more typical of growers in our state. We propose to 1) see how much defoliation it takes to affect yield in double cropped soybean at different growth stages and 2) compare defoliation thresholds between full-season and double-cropped soybeans. These might prevent potentially costly insecticide sprays for growers if thresholds can be increased, or lead to increased yield and profit for growers if thresholds can be decreased.