Abstract
Transplants were set 10 Sep 12 inches apart on 8-inch-high beds of EauGallie fine sand covered with white polyethylene mulch. Each plot consisted of a single row of 12 plants with rows on 5 ft centers. Treatments were replicated 4 times in a randomized complete block design and applied with a 2.5 gal, hand-held CO2-powered sprayer on 28 Sep, 4, 11, 18, 25 Oct, 3, 10, 15, 22, 29 Nov, 6, 13, 20, 27 Dec, 5, 11, 19, and 26 Jan. The sprayer was outfitted with a single nozzle with a D-5 disk and #45 core and delivered 100 gpa at 60 psi. On 22 Oct and 15 Nov, each plot was rated for increasing percentage of defoliation by beet armyworm larvae using the Horsfall-Barratt scale. With this scale, ratings of 1-12 corresponded to 1-100% defoliation. Fruit were harvested on 18, 30, Nov, 9, 23 Dec, 6 Jan, and 2 Feb and the number and weight of undamaged fruit and the number of fruit damaged by beet armyworm larvae were determined, fruit with slight feeding damage only on the stem or calyx were considered marketable. Fruit with any damage on the fruit wall were considered unmarketable. Fruit also were examined for the presence of oviposition scars on the outside of the fruit and for the presence of larval feeding damage on the inside of the fruit caused by the pepper weevil.
MANAGEMENT OF THE BEET ARMYWORM AND PEPPER WEEVIL ON BELL PEPPER, FALL 1999