IPM - Pepper Pest Management Time Line

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IPM - Pepper Pest Management Time Line - 2005

Insect Management

May
European Corn Borer	First generation in early May; eggs hatch in 3-4 days; can bore into stems if no fruit is present	Two applications of an insecticide may be needed if trap catches exceed 10 moths per night, especially if corn is planted late or if there is no corn in the area	Pyrethroids best option (Baythroid,Capture,,Mustang, Warrior); save acephate (*bell peppers only*) for when fruit is present
Thrips	Generally overwinter in weed hosts potential to vector tomato spotted wilt virus	On 5 consecutive plants in 10 locations examine 2 leaves per plant(100 leaves); no established threshold , look for population increase	Baythroid(except Thrips palmi), Capture (bifenthrin), Warrior (except Western Flower Thrips), Spintor
June
Thrips	same as above	same as above	same as above
European Corn Borer	Need to watch for ½ inch size fruit since ECB invade under the cap quickly as soon as fruit are present	Treatment recommended 5-7 days after the first catch and fruit are ½ inch in diameter; General Guideline of 1-2 moths per night in BLT	2 applications of Orthene (acephate) for ECB - bell peppers only; can be followed by newer products like Spintor, Intrepid, Avaunt (bell peppers only) or by pyrethroids as long as no beet armyworm present
Pepper Maggot	Flies emerge from soil by mid-June. Insert eggs under skin and hatch in 8-14 days; no rescue treatment	Yellow sticky traps baited with ammonia. May work when placed in hedgerows. Best results when placed in sugar maples. Start spraying when catch first fly on sticky traps	Dimethoate best option. Mustang MAX (adults) and Thionex also labeled
Potato Aphid, Green Peach Aphid	In cool wet seasons, you may find aphids early in season	A treatment may be needed if you find 1-2 aphids be leaf and beneficial activity is low	Lannate, Fulfill, Assail, Actara or Provado
July
European Corn Borer	same as above	same as above	same as above
Pepper Maggot	same as above	same as above	same as above
Corn Earworm	Eggs deposited on or near flowers. Hatch in 3-4 days; generally an issue by mid-July	Examine plants and fruit for small larvae; BLT catches above 20 per night indicate a potential problem with CEW	Spintor and Avaunt may not provide control soon enough since need to be ingested and may not work fast enough to prevent damage; Pyrethroid best option for CEW
Beet Armyworm	Migratory pest; have it each year but 2002 was an exceptional year. In our area mid-July	Use pheromone trap - one Unitrap per field; 20 moths per night indicates need to intensify scouting; treatment recommended if you find 5% plants with larvae and/or one egg mass per 100 leaves	Lannate and pyrethroids have not worked in recent years; need to use Spintor, Intreprid or Avaunt
Fall Armyworm	Migratory pest; can occur in July but more of a problem in Aug; feeds in side of fruit	Pheromone traps can be used; Catches of 10-20 per night in combination with egg masses in the field may indicate a problem	Lannate has provided control. Spintor or Intrepid are also labeled for control
Spider Mites	Can be a problem anytime, esp. in hot dry weather; attack leaves and fruit, develop quickly	On 5 plants in 10 locations examine 2 leaves and 2 fruit per plant (100 leaves/ fruit examined); Threshold= 10 infested leaves/100; 10 fruit injured/100	Agri-Mek, Kelthane. Capture(bifenthrin) - high rate but can also flair mites if overused
August
European Corn Borer	same as above	same as above	same as above
Pepper Maggot	same as above	same as above	same as above
Corn Earworm	same as above	same as above	same as above
Beet Armyworm	same as above	same as above	same as above<
Fall Armyworm	same as above	same as above	same as above
Green Peach Aphid	Generally a problem late in season when weather is hot; especially a problem with continuous pyrethroid use	Examine 5 consecutive plants in 10 spots; examine 2 leaves per plant (100 leaves) for aphids; treatment recommended if you find 120 aphid per 100 leaves	Lannate, Fulfill, Assail, Actara or Provado
Spider Mites	same as above	same as above	same as above
September
European Corn Borer	same as above	same as above	same as above
Corn Earworm	same as above	same as above	same as above
Beet Armyworm	same as above	same as above	same as above
Fall Armyworm	same as above	same as above	same as above
Green Peach Aphid	same as above	same as above	same as above

Chemical	Rate/A	Comments- Rates listed are a rate range. Be sure to check the label before applying any material for rates for specific pests, days to harvest, re-entry, maximum use rate/season and any other label restrictions. Please remember, the label is the law and always supercedes any comments in this fact sheet.

Asana XL	5.8 - 9.6 oz	pyrethroid; use high rate when worm pressure is high

Baythroid 2E	1.6 - 2.8 oz	pyrethoid; use high rate when worm pressure is high; need high rate for thrips control

Capture 2EC (bifenthrin)	2.1-6.4 oz	pyrethroid; use high rate when worm pressure is high; generic bifentrhin available
	5.12-6.4 oz	needed for mite control ( high rate)

Mustang MAX	2.24-4.0 oz	pyrethroid; use high rate when worm pressure is high; only aids in thrips control

permethrin 3.2 EC	4-8 oz 8 oz	Sweet, bell peppers only, pyrethroid; High rate (8 oz/A) for ECB only; 4-8 oz for other insect pests

Warrior with Zeon	2.56 - 3.84 oz	pyrethroid; use high rate when worm pressure is high

Lannate LV	3 pt	ECB rate(3 pt/A) ; carbamate
	1.5 -3 pt	fall armyworm and aphid rate

Orthene 97 (acephate)	0.75 - 1.0 lb 0.5 lb	Corn Borer Rate (0.75-1 lb/A) -for bell peppers only Rate on Non-bells is 0.5 lb/A -- aphid control organophosphate; generic acephate and Orthene 97 most common formulations

dimethoate 400	1/2 - 2/3 pt	organophosphate

Avaunt30 WDG	3.5 oz	new chemistry- must be ingested; ECB control is for bell peppers only -- label states for best results use Avaunt after 2 applications of an organophosphate labeled for ECB on bell peppers ( e.g. Orthene) ; labeled for other worm pests on bell and non bell peppers

Intreprid 2F	4-8 oz 8-16 oz	IGR; must be ingested - early season --young crops and small plants(4-8 oz/A) mid to late season and heavy ingestations(8-16 oz/A)

Spintor 2SC	4-8 oz	contact and ingestion

Agri-Mek 0.15EC	8-16 oz	fermentation by product; translaminar

Kelthane MF	0.75-1.5 pt	old chemistry

Fulfill 50 WDG	2.75 oz	new chemistry; selective aphicide

Assail 70WP	0.8-1.2 oz	neonicotinoid

Actara 25 WDG	2-3 oz	neonicotinoid

Provado 1.6F	3.8 oz	neonicotinoid

Pepper Weevil -- Can Come up in Southern Transplants—Has not been a problem in Delaware/Maryland but need to be aware of potential—saw it in NJ in 1992 and 2004

Description: small reddish-brown to black beetle with a curved beak; larvae are a white legless grub with a brown head; can complete cycle in 3 weeks
Overwinter in the south and come north mainly on pepper transplants, especially ones with well developed flowers or flower buds
Damage - Chew holes in leaves as well as buds and small fruit
Detected by puncture wounds on the buds and/ or premature dropping of flowers, bud and small pods
Management - Avoid southern transplants, especially ones with well developed flowers and buds
check for puncture wounds on 25-50 bud clusters once a week, twice a week better but may not be practical - only if suspect a problem
count cluster damaged if one or more flower buds have holes
treat if 5% of the clusters are damage

University of Delaware Cooperative Extension