Dispersal of Stink Bugs
| Problem: | Available information regarding stink bug dispersal between cotton and other habitats is insufficient to facilitate improvements in current population suppression tactics. |
| Objective: | Determine the dispersal of adult stink bugs within and between cotton, soybeans, corn, sorghum, other crops, and uncultivated habitats with respect to climatic factors and plant growth stages. |
| Approach: | Captured stink bugs will be tagged with miniature radio diodes and released within and adjacent to cotton fields. Individual tagged stink bugs will be tracked between cotton and adjacent crops and uncultivated habitats using a hand-held harmonic radio transceiver. This new research will be conducted in small field plots at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center and in the Brazos Valley. |
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Accomplishments: |
A hand-held harmonic radio transceiver has been capable of detecting 5-mg radio diode tags at a maximum line-of-sight range of 20 m. |
John K. Westbrook