Entomology, Department of

 

Date of this Version

6-2007

Comments

Published in HORTSCIENCE 42(3):718–720. 2007. Copyright © 2007 by the American Society for Horticultural Science.

Abstract

The chinch bug, Blissus occiduus Barber, has been documented as a serious pest of buffalograss, Buchloe dactyloides (Nutall) Engelmann, and zoysiagrass, Zoysia japonica Steudel, turf grown in the Midwest. In addition to these two warm-season turfgrasses, several other warm-season grasses, including bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., may also be at risk of B. occiduus infestations. This research evaluated selected bermudagrass and zoysiagrass cultivars for resistance to B. occiduus. Eleven zoysiagrass and four bermudagrass cultivars were evaluated for resistance to B. occiduus using no-choice studies under greenhouse conditions. Based on turfgrass damage ratings, the zoysiagrasses ‘Diamond’, ‘Zoro’, and ‘Emerald’, and bermudagrass ‘Mini Verde’ were identified as moderately resistant to B. occiduus. The zoysiagrasses ‘Zenith’, ‘Meyer’, and ‘Crowne’, and bermudagrasses ‘Tifway 419’ and ‘Tifsport’’ were characterized as highly to moderately susceptible to B. occiduus. These results provide the first report of resistance to B. occiduus in zoysiagrass and bermudagrass germplasm.

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