Hydraulic Spray Application of Gypchek as a Homeowner Control Tactic Against Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)
Gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L., nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) was applied by ground equipment at the rate of 2.5 × 1012 polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB's) per ha to the lower half of ten trees (per plot) in homeowner-sized plots in Hardford and Baltimore Counties, MD, in 1986. A laboratory bioassay of field collected larvae indicated that a highly significant (P < 0.001) increase in early season mortality of gypsy moth larvae due to NPV occurred in the zone of spray, compared to mortality in a similar foliage zone in untreated plots. Late-season treatment effects varied greatly, in apparent response to significant (P < 0.05) area effects.
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2Mention of a product in this paper does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, or the authors.
3Center for Biological Control, Forest Service-USDA, 51 Mill Pond Rd., Hamden, CT 06514.
4Insect Pathology Laboratory, ARS-USDA, Bldg. 011A, BARC-West, Beltsville, MD 20705.
5Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401.
6Department of Animal Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.