Biological Control Options for the Management of Tadpole Shrimp ( Triops longicaudatus (LeConte)) in California Rice

Joanna Bloese (), Kevin Goding and Larry Godfrey
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Joanna Bloese: College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Kevin Goding: Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Larry Godfrey: Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: Tadpole shrimp ( Triops longicaudatus ) has become a major pest for California rice farmers. Currently, management relies solely on the insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin. However, resistance to this pyrethroid was confirmed in 2016; thus, identifying an effective and practical biological control method for TPS is a priority. Field trials were conducted from 2017 to 2018 to (1) evaluate the efficacy of the predatory fish Gambusia affinis and the predatory beetles, Laccophilus maculosus (Say) and Tropisternus lateralis (Fabricius) , in controlling TPS, (2) test the efficacy of several inoculation rates of Gambusia affinis at controlling TPS and (3) to explore early indicators of TPS activity and damage as monitoring tools. Both Gambusia affinis and the predatory beetle treatments were not significantly different from the commercial standard (lambda-cyhalothrin). Both four and five Gambusia per 1 m 2 controlled TPS as well as lambda-cyhalothrin, and we observed that Gambusia affinis was able to reproduce in the field. Water turbidity was significantly correlated with TPS counts ( R = 0.85, N = 20, p < 0.0001 (2017); R = 0.58, N = 30, p = 0.0007 (2018)). The number of dislodged seedlings was less reliably correlated with TPS count; in 2017, correlations were significant ( R = 0.84, N = 20, p < 0.0001); however, in 2018, correlations were not significant ( R = 0.18, N = 30, p = 0.35). With further refinement, water turbidity could play a valuable role in monitoring TPS populations.

Keywords: biological control agent; Gambusia affini; Laccophilus maculosus say; Tropisternus lateralis Fabricius; turbidity; pest monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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