1. Insect
  2. Vegetable Crops
  3. Vegetable Crops
  4. Hosts and Pests of Vegetable Crops

Kohlrabi-Imported cabbageworm

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Image related to Kohlrabi-Imported cabbageworm
Imported cabbage worm
Pieris rapae Linnaeus
Immature showing damage on leaves
© Ken Gray Insect Image Collection
Image related to Kohlrabi-Imported cabbageworm
Imported cabbage worm
Pieris rapae Linnaeus
Adult emerging
© Ken Gray Insect Image Collection

Pieris rapae

Pest description, crop damage and life history

See:

Common Pests of Vegetable Crops

Pest monitoring The following information is from California but is generally applicable in the Pacific Northwest. Cabbageworms can be monitored at the same time as cabbage loopers. Sample 25 plants selected randomly throughout the field. Although treatment levels combine the two species, cabbageworms may be harder to find because of their smaller size and their inconspicuous coloring. Look for small larvae and eggs on the undersides of leaves. Larger worms feed toward the center of the plant, often near the midribs of leaves. Good clues to cabbageworm presence include their greenish brown fecal pellets, or many white cabbage butterflies fluttering around the field (check for eggs in a few days).

Base treatment on numbers of healthy larvae present. Treat seedlings or small plants if populations of medium-size to large caterpillars are high enough to stunt growth.

Management-biological control

Natural enemies can assist significantly in the control of imported cabbageworm. Important parasites include the pupal, larval, and egg parasites in the Trichogramma genus, as well as tachinid flies. Timely mass releases of commercially available trichogramma during peak flight can be an effective control agent. Viruses and bacterial diseases are also sometimes important control factors in the field.

Management-cultural control

Make new plantings as far as possible from those of the previous year. At the end of the year, harvest crops without delay. Plowing under or destroying plant residues at this time eliminates an important food source for the overwintering generation of cabbageworms.

Management-chemical control: HOME USE

  • azadirachtin (neem oil)-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk)-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • bifenthrin
  • carbaryl
  • cyfluthrin
  • gamma-cyhalothrin
  • kaolin-When applied as a spray to foliage and stems it acts as a repellent to some insect pests. Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • lambda-cyhalothrin
  • permethrin
  • pyrethrins-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • spinosad-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • zeta-cypermethrin

Management-chemical control: COMMERCIAL USE

  • alpha-cypermethrin (Fastac EC) at 0.014 to 0.025 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.075 lb ai/a per season.
  • beta-cyfluthrin (Baythroid XL) at 0.013 to 0.019 lb ai/a. PHI 0 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.1 lb ai/a.
  • beta-cyfluthrin/imidacloprid (Leverage 360) at 0.07 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.1 lb ai/a beta-cyfluthrin or 0.2 lb ai/a imidacloprid per season.
  • bifenthrin (Brigade WSB) at 0.033 to 0.1 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Limit 5 treatments. Do not exceed 0.5 lb ai/a per season.
  • bifenthrin/imidacloprid (Brigadier) at 0.06 to 0.095 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Do not exceed 0.24 lb ai/a imidacloprid and 0.24 lb ai/a bifenthrin. Retreatment interval 7 days. Maximum 5 applications.
  • bifenthrin/zeta-cypermethrin (Hero EW) at 0.04 to 0.1 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Limit 5 treatments. Do not exceed 0.45 lb ai/a per season.
  • Burkholderia spp. (Venerate XC) at 1 to 4 quarts/a product. PHI 0 days. REI 4 hr. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • carbaryl (Sevin 4F) at 1 to 2 lb ai/a. PHI 3 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Limit 4 treatments per year. Do not exceed 6 lb ai/a per year.
  • chlorantraniliprole (Coragen) at 0.045 to 0.098 lb ai/a a) at planting; b) via drip irrigation; c) as foliar. PHI 3 days. REI 4 hr. Retreatment interval 3 days for foliar and 10 days for chemigation. Do not exceed 0.2 lb ai/a per season.
  • chlorantraniliprole/thiamethoxam (Voliam Flexi) at 0.1 to 0.175 lb ai/a. PHI 3 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.172 lb ai of thiamethoxam or 0.2 lb ai of chlorantraniliprole per acre per growing season.
  • chlorpyrifos (Lorsban 75WG) at 0.67 to 1 lb ai/a. PHI 21 days. REI 24 hr. Limit 3 treatments. RESTRICTED USE IN OREGON.
  • Chromobacterium subtsugae (Grandevo) at 0.3 to 0.9 lb ai/a per 100 gal. PHI 0 days. REI 4 hr. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • cyantraniliprole (Exirel) at 0.045 to 0.088 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Limit 6 treatments per year. Do not exceed 0.4 lb ai/a per year.
  • cyclaniliprole (Harvanta 50SL) at 0.036 to 0.054 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Do not exceed 0.22 lb ai/a per year.
  • cyfluthrin (Tombstone) at 0.025 to 0.038 lb ai/a. PHI 0 days. REI 12 hr. Do not exceed 0.2 lb ai/a per season. Retreatment interval 7 days.
  • cypermethrin (Holster) at 0.05 to 0.1 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.6 lb ai/a per season.
  • emamectin benzoate (Proclaim) at 0.008 to 0.015 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.09 lb ai/a per season. Do not graze.
  • fenpropathrin (Danitol 2.4EC) at 0.2 to 0.3 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.8 lb ai/a per season.
  • gamma-cyhalothrin (Declare) at 0.0075 to 0.0125 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Do not exceed 0.12 lb ai/a per season. An oil or nonionic surfactant improves performance.
  • GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1a (Spear Lep) at 0.8 lb ai/a. PHI 0 days. REI 4 hr. Do not exceed 2 lb ai/a per year.
  • indoxacarb (Avaunt) at 0.045 to 0.065 lb ai/a. PHI 3 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 3 days. Do not exceed 0.26 lb ai/a per season.
  • lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior II) at 0.015 to 0.025 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Do not exceed 0.24 lb ai/a per season.
  • lambda-cyhalothrin /thiamethoxam (Endigo ZC) at 0.064 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.24 lb ai/a of lambda-cyhalothrin or 0.172 lb ai/a of thiamethoxam per season.
  • malathion (Malathion 8) at 1.25 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Limit 2 treatment per year.
  • methoxyfenozide (Intrepid 2F) at 0.06 to 0.12 lb ai/a for early-season application and 0.12 to 0.16 lb ai for mid- to late-season application or heavy infestation. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. Adding adjuvant improves performance. Do not exceed 1.0 lb ai/a per season.
  • novaluron (Rimon 0.83 EC) at 0.039 to 0.078 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.16 lb ai/a per season.
  • spinetoram (Radiant SC) at 0.039 to 0.078 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. Retreatment interval 4 days. Do not exceed 0.266 lb ai/a per season. Do not apply to seedling cole crops grown for transplant within a greenhouse, shade house, or field plot. Limit 6 treatments per season
  • spinosad (Success, Entrust SC) at 0.047 to 0.063 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. Do not exceed 0.45 lb ai/a or six applications per crop. Entrust SC is OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • tebufenozide (Confirm 2F) at 0.09 to 0.12 lb ai/a early season, or 0.12 lb ai/a mid to late season. PHI 7 days. REI 4 hr. Do not exceed 0.12 lb ai/a per application or 0.625 lb ai/a per season.
  • zeta-cypermethrin (Mustang) at 0.028 to 0.05 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.3 lb ai/a per season.