Susceptibility of Arizona Populations of Lygus Bugs to Acephate (Orthene®) and Bifenthrin (Capture®)

Abstract

Adult lygus bugs were collected from alfalfa fields in 6 different cotton producing areas of Arizona. The standardized, glass vial method was used to estimate susceptibility of the collected populations to the organophosphate insecticide, acephate (Orthene®), and the pyrethroid, bifenthrin (Capture®). Overall, lygus from throughout the state were very susceptible to bifenthrin. However, some populations were significantly less susceptible to bifenthrin than were others. Lygus populations with greater than 20% survivorship of 100 μg/ml vial bioassays with bifenthrin should be monitored to provide early warning of future problems with pyrethroid resistance. Resistance of lygus to acephate appeared to be widespread but not uniform in Arizona. While some populations had individuals surviving exposure to vial treatments of as high as 10,000 pg/ml acephate, other populations had no survivors of 1,000 pg/ml treatments. Lygus populations with survivors of 10,000 pg/ml vial bioassays should be considered highly resistant to acephate. Our findings illustrate that resistance levels are often unique from farm to farm, even within the same region. To preserve the long-term usefulness of acephate, where possible, cotton growers should consider using it no more than once or twice per season, on any given field.