Brown Stink Bug, Euschistus servus (Say) Damage Cotton Gossypium hirsutum (L. ) in California's Southern Desert Fields

As plants senesce or are harvested, numbers of brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say) migrate from primary host crops into nearby susceptible crops like cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.). Host sources include shrubs, many broadleaf weeds, legumes (Leguminosae Juss.), corn (Zea mays L.), soybean (Glycine max L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.), millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). A close proximity between the listed hosts and cotton increases the difficulty of managing Euschistus servus in the commodity. Euschistus servus is an established vector of cotton boll pathogens. In this study, E. servus feeding caused minimal visual damage to cotton bolls and boll disease was essentially absent resulting in a non-statistical affect in yield or fiber quality loss when compared to bolls from un-infested E. servus infested fields. This suggested that the population densities of cotton boll rotting pathogens is low in California’s southern desert and has minimal effects on yield losses. Low incidence of cotton boll rotting bacteria indicated that damage done by E. servus in California is limited to direct damage by the insect feeding trauma itself. Further support is reflected in the lack of significant differences of HVI color classing between the sampling locations as you move away from the stink bug infested cotton field perimeter.

Author(s): Enrique G Medrano

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