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Crop Loss Assessment of the Colorado Potato Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on Potatoes in Western Massachusetts1
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1983
Year
EngineeringBotanyInsect ConservationEntomologyColorado Potato BeetleAgricultural EconomicsPlant PathologyDefoliation PatternsPotato PlantSustainable AgricultureCrop Loss AssessmentPublic HealthCrop ProductionWestern Massachusetts1Crop DamagePest ManagementIntegrated Plant ProtectionVegetable ProductionCrop ProtectionCrop SciencePest ControlPopulation DevelopmentDpp 55
In 1979 and 1980, populations of Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) were regulated by several different insecticide control strategies generating different potato, Solanum tuberosum L. (cv. ‘Superior’), defoliation patterns. In 1980, populations caused no more than 10 to 15% defoliation up to 45 days postplanting (dpp), yet up to 40% defoliation occurred by dpp 55 in some treatments. The potato plant was able to partially refoliate if defoliation was terminated by dpp 55 with no reduction in total yield (31 metric tons/ha) when compared with nondefoliated treatments; however, there was a reduction in the production of no. 1 grade potatoes (16.6 vs. 20.6 tons/ha). Defoliation which occurred in the two weeks before vine kill had no effect on yield. Estimated levels of defoliation based on the number of larvae and adults multiplied by their feeding rates closely approximated observed levels of defoliation.