Bt corn hybrids expressing mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab Proteins protect corn roots against western corn rootworm injury.

BACKGROUND: The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is one of the most serious pests of corn (Zea mays L.) In 2017 and 2018, studies were conducted in fields with and without known unexpected root injury to Cry3Bb1, to determine root protection by Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab insecticidal crystal proteins, and hybrids expressing either mCry3A or eCry3.1Ab only against the WCR root injury. Node injury was evaluated using the Iowa State University 0-3 node-injury scale (NIS), and the consistency of root protection was also determined. RESULTS: In 2017, with medium to high larval feeding pressure, the Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab in the breeding stack, molecular stack, and Bt corn hybrid expressing eCry3.1Ab only, sustained low node injury compared with Bt corn hybrid expressing mCry3A only, and the non-Bt corn. In 2018, with low larval feeding pressure in most of the locations, node injury was not different for the Bt and Non-Bt corn hybrids. Across all locations in both years, the Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab provided better and consistent node injury protection. CONCLUSION: Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab proteins provided better root protection and consistency than the Bt corn hybrid expressing mCry3A only, and non-Bt. Therefore, stacking of Bt traits will be the best option for managing insect resistance. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Neonicotinoid Insecticide Resistance in Tobacco Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of Mississippi.

Insecticidal efficacy of neonicotinoid insecticides used against tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in cotton, Gossypium hirisutum L. (Malvales: Malvaceae), was evaluated for field populations collected in Mississippi during 2014-2016. Resistance was documented in 16 and 57% of populations to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, respectively. Resistance levels did not vary by host plant for any neonicotinoid, but resistance levels varied between the two main agricultural areas (Delta and Hills) of Mississippi and among years for some neonicotinoids. In spite of documented resistance, neonicotinoid seed treatments are still used on cotton in the midsouthern United States due to the lack of reliable alternative management strategies. The development of alternative thrips management strategies is critical to the sustainability of cotton production in the midsouthern United States.

F2 screen, inheritance and cross-resistance of field-derived Vip3A resistance in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collected from Louisiana, USA.

BACKGROUND: Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a target pest of the Vip3A protein used in pyramided Bt corn and cotton in the USA. In this study, we provide the first documentation of a resistance allele conferring Vip3A resistance in a field-derived population of S. frugiperda from the USA, and characterize its inheritance and cross-resistance. RESULTS: An F2 screen with 104 two-parent families generated from a field collection of S. frugiperda in Louisiana, USA, resulted in one family carrying a Vip3A resistance allele. The Vip3A-resistant strain (RR) derived from the two-parent family showed a high level of resistance to Vip3A in both diet and whole-plant bioassays, with a resistance ratio of >632.0-fold relative to a susceptible population (SS) based on diet-overlay bioassays. The inheritance of Vip3A resistance was monogenic, autosomal and recessive. Furthermore, the Vip3A resistance conferred no cross-resistance to Cry1F, Cry2Ab2 or Cry2Ae purified proteins, with resistance ratios of 3.5, 5.0 and 1.1, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings provide valuable information for characterizing Vip3A resistance, resistance monitoring, and developing effective resistance management strategies for the sustainable use of the Vip3A technology. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Frankliniella fusca resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides: an emerging challenge for cotton pest management in the eastern United States.

BACKGROUND: Over the past two decades, neonicotinoid seed treatments have become the primary method to manage tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca Hinds, on seedling cotton. Because this insect is highly polyphagous and the window of insecticide exposure is short, neonicotinoid resistance was expected to pose a minimal risk. However, reports of higher than expected F. fusca seedling damage in seed-treated cotton fields throughout the Mid-South and Southeast US production regions suggested neonicotinoid resistance had developed. To document this change, F. fusca populations from 86 different locations in the eastern United States were assayed in 2014 and 2015 for imidacloprid and thiamethoxam resistance to determine the extent of the issue in the region. RESULTS: Approximately 57 and 65% of the F. fusca populations surveyed had reduced imidacloprid and thiamethoxam sensitivity respectively. Survivorship in diagnostic bioassays was significantly different at both the state and regional scales. Multiple-dose bioassays conducted on 37 of the populations documented up to 55- and 39-fold resistance ratios for imidacloprid and thiamethoxam respectively. CONCLUSION: Estimates of neonicotinoid resistance indicate an emerging issue for management of F. fusca in the eastern United States. Significant variation in survivorship within states and regions indicated that finer-scale surveys were needed to determine factors (genetic, insecticide use) driving resistance evolution. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Temperature and precipitation affect seasonal patterns of dispersing tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca, and onion thrips, Thrips tabaci (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) caught on sticky traps.

Effects of temperature and precipitation on the temporal patterns of dispersing tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca, and onion thrips, Thrips tabaci, caught on yellow sticky traps were estimated in central and eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia from 1997 through 2001. The impact that these environmental factors had on numbers of F. fusca and T. tabaci caught on sticky traps during April and May was determined using stepwise regression analysis of 43 and 38 site-years of aerial trapping data from 21 and 18 different field locations, respectively. The independent variables used in the regression models included degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days in which precipitation occurred during January through May. Each variable was significant in explaining variation for both thrips species and, in all models, degree-days was the single best explanatory variable. Precipitation had a comparatively greater effect on T. tabaci than F. fusca. The numbers of F. fusca and T. tabaci captured in flight were positively related to degree-days and the number of days with precipitation but negatively related to total precipitation. Combined in a single model, degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days with precipitation explained 70 and 55% of the total variation in the number of F. fusca captured from 1 April through 10 May and from 1 April through 31 May, respectively. Regarding T. tabaci flights, degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days with precipitation collectively explained 57 and 63% of the total variation in the number captured from 1 April through 10 May and from 1 April through 31 May, respectively.