Bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris) is an invasive stink bug that was first observed in the Salinas Valley in October-November 2013. We started monitoring bagrada bug populations in non-crop habitat up and down the Valley starting in January 2015 and have continued to do so since then. We have seen bagrada bug populations beginning to develop on the weeds in spring and summer months. Weeds are clearly a key factor for bagrada bug populations in our region. While cruciferous crops are available year-round in the valley, stands of weeds are typically where populations really build up during early- and mid-summer (Fig 1).

In the Salinas Valley, shortpod mustard (Hirschfeldia incana, or summer mustard; Figs. 2 and 3) and perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium; Figs. 4 and 5) appear to be the two most important weeds for buildup of bagrada bug populations. We have found bugs (in extremely high numbers) on perennial wall rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia), a weed commonly found along Hwy 101 between Chualar and Soledad, but this was very late in the year when temperatures were cooling and after the time bagrada bugs are typically problematic. These three weeds are non-native and invasive, just like the bagrada bug.

For our survey, we have been surveying a number of sites that cover the length of the Salinas Valley (Salinas, Chualar, Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, King City, San Lucas, San Ardo, and Watsonville). These sites contain a stand of at least one of these weed species, although we focused on pepperweed and/or shortpod mustard at the majority of the sites. Each month, we search for damage and bagrada bugs on the weeds at each site for twenty-minutes or until insects are counted on five plants of each species. When leaves are actively growing and not already damaged and worn out, damage is often easier to detect than insects (Figs. 6 and 7). This is similar to scouting in fields, where checking plants for fresh damage is the recommended method of scouting (Palumbo 2015). Unfortunately, fresh damage can be hard to find on older weeds because old damage obscures fresh damage, leaves are extremely tough, and bugs feed on stems or seed pods, so we primarily rely on detection of actual bugs.

When we surveyed near the end of June this year, we did not find high populations of bagrada bugs or damage, although they were present at some sites. We were left wondering what would happen with bagrada bug populations this year. After our July sample date, how 2016 populations compare with 2015 is still not clear, although we have started finding small populations of bagrada bug, which suggests we won't be having a bagrada bug-free year. If anything, there may be a slight delay in bagrada bug movement into fields, although this is fairly speculative. The spring rainfall this year was definitely greater than in 2015, although what effect of rainfall had on winter and spring bagrada bug populations is not clear. In 2016, we added a number of new sites, so some sites have already been surveyed during one period of population peaks, while others have only been surveyed since the beginning of this year.

At the three sites we surveyed in 2015 with perennial pepperweed, we did not see populations jump until our survey time point in late August. This year, we have not seen populations increase appreciably, although we will have to see what we find at the end of August to compare to 2015. At some of the sites with shortpod mustard that we surveyed in 2015, we had already found a fair number of bagrada bugs by this time last year, including some large populations of nymphs (up to 3 to 5 adults per plant and 18 to 57 nymphs per plant). This year, we haven't seen the same populations yet at those sites.

Next, we have the sites that have only been surveyed in 2016. While the initial sites were chosen based on prior issues with bagrada bugs in nearby fields, the new sites were not necessarily chosen based on the same conditions. We chose these new sites to improve the coverage of our survey. Each site also contains at least one of the three weed species we have focused on (shortpod mustard, perennial pepperweed, or perennial wall-rocket). A few sites were chosen knowing that bagrada bugs were present in 2015. A few of these sites have plenty of weeds available for bagrada bugs, but as of yet, we haven't seen any bugs. Some sites do have developing bagrada bug populations. We found what appears to be growing populations of bagrada bugs on both shortpod mustard and perennial pepperweed at one site near San Ardo on our last survey date (July 25^th/26^th). In the foothills near Gonzales, we found 1 to 26 bagrada adults and 0 to 22 nymphs on shortpod mustard plants. In addition, we were able to easily find bagrada bugs (0 to 8 adults, 0 to 3 nymphs) on shortpod mustard plants growing along US-101 between Greenfield and King City (Fig. 8). As many of you that have driven this stretch of road may know, there are a lot of weeds there. This means that a handful of bagrada bugs on each plant can quickly add up to large populations when summed over thousands of plants. As the weeds senesce, bagrada bugs will likely concentrate on still-green plants, although this patch can only support the bagrada bugs for so long with plants continuing to senesce. 

As we see it, the issue is when these growing populations of bagrada bugs run out of food in the patches of weeds, and then go in search of new food sources. At this point, they can start finding their way into fields of cruciferous crop. This time of year, much of the shortpod mustard in the Valley is starting to set seed and will soon completely dry up if it has not already. In many locations, the vast majority of plants are almost dry. In the same localized area, some shortpod mustard plants will be completely senesced, while others are still green and flowering (see Figs. 9-11). Differences in growing conditions at a fairly small scale can therefore be very important. If all of the plants dry up, bagrada bugs will be forced to disperse, possibly triggering infestations in crop fields. If green plants remain, they may retain bagrada bugs, shifting the risk of infestation. Perennial pepperweed can persist late into the fall, but this is dependent on availability of water, damage by bagrada bugs, and disease pressure (pepperweed is often afflicted by white rust; Koike et al. 2011). The timing and severity of bagrada bug infestations in fields seems to be closely tied to what is happening on the weeds, so a better understanding of population dynamics on weeds will be needed to better predict an influx of bagrada bugs.

The next step will be to figure out how to incorporate bagrada bug populations in weeds into management and scouting plans. It is already common for PCAs to check weeds for bagrada bugs and we believe this to be a useful tactic. At this point, we suggest checking weeds on the edges of fields and any large patches of weeds within ~ 0.5 miles that seem to be likely sources of bagrada bugs. Consider which sides of crop fields often get infested the most or earliest and search for weeds on that side of the field. The dispersal ability of bagrada bugs has not been well characterized, but cases in which fields are colonized even when no cruciferous weeds or only bare ground is nearby show that bagrada bugs can move significant distances. While often seen walking, bagrada bugs readily fly, especially when surface temperatures are above 100° F based on preliminary observations. When perennial pepperweed is green and leaves are growing, new or recent damage should be readily apparent. Damage on “old growth” shortpod mustard is not always readily apparent, so finding bagrada bugs themselves is necessary. Adults are often found feeding on flowers, buds, or seed pods, so these are the best plant structures to scan. We believe bagrada bugs on weeds are mainly a threat to crop fields once the quality of these plants starts to decline, so pay attention to weed phenology and damage severity on weeds from both bagrada bugs and disease.

Management of weeds is another option to limit the population growth potential of bagrada bugs. Sanitation of both weeds and crops has been a recommended cultural management tactic in the pest's Old World range (Palumbo et al. 2016). By removing nearby weeds, you may be able to prevent an economically significant infestations. If weeds are managed, the timing will be important. For shortpod mustard, if it is possible to successfully manage weeds when they are still small, this may prevent build up of bagrada populations from the very beginning. However, resurgence of the weeds may happen with sufficient soil moisture early in the year. A more efficient tactic may be to manage shortpod mustard once it has bolted and is flowering later in the season (~ late April to May). This will help prevent resurgence of weeds but will still intercept bagrada bug populations before they have a chance to build to a significant degree. Managing weeds later and once bagrada bug populations have developed could push insects into crop fields. The timing of weed management could also be tied to the susceptibility of nearby crops, which could help if bagrada bugs are already present on the weeds. Adult bagrada bugs moving into a 40 day-old broccoli field because the weeds they were on were mowed or disced would likely not cause economic damage. However, managing weeds near a newly planted field could make matters worse and create a pest problem. Even if nearby weeds don't harbor bagrada bugs early in the season, they may serve as an intermediate bridge between the crop fields and weeds that are further away. Unfortunately, it is likely impossible to manage weeds far enough out from fields to eliminate the threat of bagrada bugs. The landscape context is important, but exercising control over the entire landscape is not possible. Perennial pepperweed is a trickier weed to deal with given its phenology and ability to rapidly re-sprout. These weed species are not about to disappear from the landscape in the Salinas Valley, so they will continue to play an important role for developing bagrada bug populations.

References

Koike, S. T., M. J. Sullivan, C. Southwick, C. Feng, and J. C. Correll. 2011. Characterization of white rust of perennial pepperweed caused by Albugo candida in California. Plant Disease 95:876.

Palumbo, J. C. 2015. Association between Bagrada hilaris density and feeding damage in broccoli- implications for pest management. Plant Health Progress 16:158–162.

Palumbo, J., T. Perring, J. Millar, and D. A. Reed. 2016. Biology, ecology, and management of an invasive stink bug, Bagrada hilaris, in North America. Annual Review of Entomology 61:453–473.

Fig 1. Adult and nymph bagrada bug on a still-green shortpod mustard plant after grasses have completely dried.

Fig 2. Shortpod mustard growing in the shoulder.

Fig 3. Bagrada bugs feeding on shortpod mustard flowers.

Fig 4. A stand of perennial pepperweed in the spring.

Fig 5. A pair of bagrada bugs on perennial pepperweed flowers.

Fig 6. Bagrada bug damage on perennial pepperweed. New lesions still appear green in color and with distinct lines or “fans” from the “lacerate and flush” feeding by bagrada bugs. Lesions turn white as they age and the leaf tissue becomes chlorotic.

Fig 7. Older bagrada bug damage on pepperweed. Lesions have developed into tattered holes.

Fig 8. A typical roadside scene in the Salinas Valley (photo taken July 26, 2016). Some of the shortpod has completely senesced, but most plants still have green leaves, some flowers, and many pods.

Fig 9. Shortpod mustard growing in the roadside near Gonzales, CA. Plants further from the road have almost completely senesced. Bagrada bugs were not found at this time point. Photo taken March 26, 2016.

Fig 10. Shortpod mustard growing in the roadside near Gonzales, CA. Bagrada bugs were found on these plants. Photo taken July 26, 2016.

Fig 11. The same site near Gonzales, CA, further from the road. Plants are almost completely senesced. Bagrada bugs were found on these plants. Photo taken July 26, 2016.

Save the Date!

Bagrada bug meeting:  First Announcement

Friday, December 11, 2015

9:30 AM to 3:00 PM

County of Monterey Agricultural Conference Center

1432 Abbott Street, Salinas, California 93901

This seminar will provide an overview of bagrada bug biology and management for both organic and conventional vegetable production. The presentations will cover the approaches taken by the researchers and strategies adopted or practiced by the growers to manage bagrada bug. The major goals of the seminar are to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize the shorter and longer-term research needs. The presentations can be viewed through a webinar and growers can interact with the speakers.   

Organizers: Bagrada bug working group: California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), University of California-Davis (UCD), University of California-Riverside (UCR), University of Arizona (UA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Please pre-register here. Sign-in is from 9:30 to 10:00 AM on 11 December 2015. There is no registration fee for this meeting. Lunch will be provided. Please call ahead (at least 24 hours) for arrangements for special needs; every effort will be made to accommodate full participation. For more information, contact Shimat Joseph (831-229-8985; 1432 Abbott Street, Salinas, California 93901).

It is the policy of the University of California (UC) and the UC Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources (UC ANR) not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/187680.pdf ) Inquiries regarding ANR's nondiscrimination policies may be directed to Linda Marie Manton, Affirmative Action Contact.

La División de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales (UC ANR) de Universidad de California prohíbe la discriminación o el hostigamiento de cualquier persona en cualquiera de sus programas o actividades. (Se puede leer la versión completa de la declaración de política antidiscriminatoria en http://UC ANR.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/187682.pdf ) Las preguntas sobre la política antidiscriminatoria de ANR pueden dirigirse a: Linda Marie Manton, Affirmative Action.

1^st Announcement- Save the Date

 2015 Salinas Valley Weed School

Thursday, November 12

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Agricultural Center Conference Room

(1432 Abbott Street, Salinas)

This meeting will cover a number of new techniques for controlling weeds in vegetable crops. In addition the effect of weeds on bagrada bug populations and new mechanical tools will be discussed.

4.0 Continuing education credits have been applied for. Please call ahead for special accommodations.

For more information call Richard Smith (831) 759-7357

See attached file for full agenda.

Bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris (Fig. 1) continues to be a major pest of brassica crops in the Salinas Valley and Hollister causing severe crop losses for both organic and conventional growers alike. Organic growers are struggling because there are very limited options at disposal to suppress the bagrada bug populations in the field. Conventional growers on the other hand are relying heavily on pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides and are going with more number of applications than normal during early stages pf crop development (Cotyledon to four true leaves stage). This tactic (multiple applications) benefit the young seedlings as insecticide residues protect the plants from bagrada bug feeding especially, on the growing point or apical meristematic tissue. Feeding injury to meristematic tissue would cause “blind” head (no head) and multiple shoots on heading brassica crops such as broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage. With couple of insecticide applications at early stages of brassica crop, conventional growers are facing 5-30% loss from bagrada bug feeding injury. Some growers finding noticeably high mortality of cotyledons forcing them to skip thinning operation to maintain a decent crop stand.

Bagrada bug is taking a huge toll on leafy brassica crops such as Chinese cabbage (Pak Choi or Bak Choi), Arugula, Mizuna, Totsoi and Kale. These crops become unmarketable from direct feeding injury on the leaves (Fig. 2). These crops are like “magnets” for bagrada bugs. Bagrada bugs can precisely detect the seeds planted in the soil and most of the seedlings emerge with bagrada bug feeding injury. Sometimes, severe feeding at young stages cause plants die upon emergence (Fig. 3).    

Two field trials were conducted in Hollister seeking organic insecticide options for bagrada bug management. The insecticide products chosen were Surround (Kaolin clay), Pyganic, Aza-direct, Entrust and M-pede. Surfact 50 was added when the Pyganic and Aza-direct were used alone. These organically approved insecticides were combined with other insecticides based on certain assumptions. For example, when insecticide Surround is sprayed, it forms a thin particle film on the leaf surface without affecting light transmission or photosynthesis. As bagrada bugs crawl on the Surround treated surface, the particles could stick to their body possibly cause irritation and force them to crawl off from the treated surface. This phenomenon if occurs, it could reduce the incidence of bagrada bug feeding injury. Moreover, it is possible that combining insecticides such as Pyganic and Aza-direct with Surround may increase insecticide exposure as bagrada bugs groom to remove the clay particles stuck on their body using their legs or wings.

The field where the trials were conducted had enormous bagrada bug pressure. Bagrada bugs were everywhere that one would easily kill “thousands of bugs” just by walking over the beds. All stages of bagrada bug were present in the field at the time of insecticide applications. The applications were targeted to protect the plants from feeding injury and not particularly to kill the bugs. The first trial was conducted in Mizuna field and the second trial was conducted in Arugula field. In both the trials, the products were applied four times at three-day interval until harvest between 7 AM and 9 AM. The water volume used was 40 gal per acre. The products were applied using the pneumatic sprayer or back pack sprayer. The details of the products, active ingredients and the rates used for the trials are shown in the Tables 1 and 2. The design of experiments was Completely Randomized Block Design with four replications (Fig. 4). Plant samples were collected twice a week and were evaluated for bagrada bug feeding injury on the true leaves (Fig. 5).

In trial 1, the bagrada bug feeding injury was numerically lower on Mizuna plants that received higher rate of Surround (alone) and Surround combined with Pyganic or Aza-direct than on untreated plants (Fig. 6). When the percentage change in bagrada bug injury on true leaves was calculated (taller the histogram, better the product performance), the plants treated with higher rate of Surround, and Surround combined with Pyganic or Aza-direct had greater reduction of bagrada bug feeding than untreated plants (Fig. 7). In trial 2, none of the treatments showed any indication of suppression when compared with untreated plants (Fig. 8).

Basically, these studies did not provide definite answers to the questions posed or problem but provided some trends. It appears that combining Pyganic or Aza-direct with Surround may have some value rather than applying alone. The Surround rate 20 lb per 40 gal of water is maximum rate for this product. Because Surround could clog the spray tanks, it requires rigorous agitation before application. Also, because Surround easily comes off from the leaf surface with sprinkler irrigation, reapplications are warranted if irrigated at closer intervals especially during the early stages of the crop. The rate of M-pede used in the study was 2% of the water volume. Typically, 2% of M-pede is considered as a high rate and increasing the rate (> 2%) may cause phytotoxicity (burning of leaves).        

Then, can we manage bagrada bug?

Few thoughts:

1. Perhaps, we should approach this problem differently. Bagrada bug is a landscape scale pest that they could reproduce and build-up to huge populations if the food is available in plenty, and warm and dry conditions persist. So far, we learned that their population build-up starting late July to December in the Salinas Valley and Hollister. The warmer conditions favor rapid reproduction and several overlapping generations of bagrada bug would develop in short period.
2. We observed that their population pressure vary across landscapes and is a serious problem where the control options are limited. For example, bagrada bug problem is less severe when the management is aggressive such as conventional fields where growers have effective products that could suppress or knock down their populations at least in the crops grown. Organic growers on the other hand have limited options to fight bagrada bug and its population rapidly grows into uncontrollable size.
3. We also noticed that initially these bugs invade the plants in the edge of the field from the surrounding fields or risk zones (e.g. ditches).
4. These facts suggest that this is a landscape level problem rather than a field level problem. Bagrada bug management approach probably should include the management of various kinds of hosts that function as reservoir (e.g. brassica weeds) and aid to sustain their populations (brassica crops).  
5. Cultural management: Avoid planting brassica crops back-to-back pattern or staggered pattern. This would provide opportunity for bagrada bug to utilize the continuous supply of food to reach uncontrollable population size in short period of time. If somehow, the growers could disrupt the ecology of bagrada bug by not growing brassica crops in succession for a period instead rotate with non-brassica hosts, their population might crash and reach to a controllable levels.
6. Weed management: Aggressive weed management especially brassicaceous weeds along with tight cultural management would disrupt the food supply and prevent escalation of population size.  
7. Bagrada bugs have demonstrated the ability to survive on non-brassica hosts especially solanaceous crops such as tomato, potato or pepper but would rarely reach to the levels we are seeing in brassica fields.

For further reading on bagrada bug please click on the following links (UC IPM pest note or blog articles).

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/pestalert/pabagradabug.html

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=14915  

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=11632

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=11591  

Please contact me (Shimat Joseph) by email at svjoseph@ucanr.edu or phone at 831-229-8985 if you have any questions or comments.

Figure 1. Bagrada bug attacking broccoli plant.

Figure 2. Feeding injury on Arugula

Figure 3. Dying Arugula seedlings at emergence after bagrada bug feeding.

Figure 4. Experimental plots with Surround treatments (white).

Figure 5. Classic "star burst" feeding injury on Arugula leaves.

Table 1. The products, active ingredients, and rates in Trial 1 in Mizuna.

Figure 6. Trial 1: Effect of organic treatments on bagrada bug feeding injury on Mizuna leaves (refer Table 1).

Figure 7. Trial 1: Percent change in bagrada bug feeding injury after application on various treatments (refer Table 1) in Mizuna.

Table 2. The products, active ingredients, and rates in Trial 2 in Arugula.

Figure 8. Trial 2: Effect of organic treatments on bagrada bug feeding injury on Arugula leaves (refer Table 2).