Canola-Cabbage and striped flea beetle

Phyllotreta cruciferae and P. striolata

Pest description and crop damage Adults are blue-black jumping beetles. They attack seedlings, damaging apical meristem, reducing stand, and deforming plants. The larvae feed on roots. Adult beetles are the most damaging stage. They also can attack developing pods, resulting in shatter loss of seed. Insecticidal seed treatments are necessary at planting time to control flea beetles because of the difficulty in predicting their populations. A foliar application of insecticide may still be required should adult activity continue and reach the threshold, 25 percent feeding damage on cotyledon, after the seed treatments are no longer effective.

Management-chemical control (Foliar Treatment)

  • azadirachtin (Azasol and other brands) spray at 6 oz (0.22 lb ai) in 50-gal water/A when pests first appear. Repeat application 5 to 7 days if required. Do not use it with oil. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • Beauveria bassiana GHA (Mycotrol ESO, Mycotrol ES, BioCers WP, BotaniGard ES and BoteGHA ES) at 0.50 to 2 quarts (0.014 to 0.054 lb ai/A) /100 gal of spray volume (unless BioCers WP 1.5 lb to 3 lb of product (0.2 to 0.6 lb ai/A) /100 gal of spray volume). Apply at 5- to 10-day intervals. High insect populations may require 2- to 5-day intervals. This product may be applied up to the day of harvest. REI 4 hr. Mycotrol ESO contains live spores of the naturally occurring fungus Beauveria bassiana Strain GHA. Spores are alive and may be harmed by storage at high temperatures or contact with water for more than 24 hr. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • bifenthrin (Tundra EC, others) at 0.033 to 0.04 lb ai/A or 2.1 to 2.6 fl oz/A. Foliar application for flea beetle. Do not exceed 0.08 lb ai/A or 5.12 oz formulated product per acre per season. Apply a minimum of 10 gal/A by ground or 2 gal minimum by air. Do not apply within 35 days of harvest. Do not apply less than 14 days apart.
  • bifenthrin; zeta-cypermethrin (Hero Insecticide, others) at 0.025 to 0.053 lb ai/A. Do not exceed 5.5 oz per application. Do not apply more than 11 oz of product per season. Do not apply within 35 days of harvest. Do not make applications less than 14 days apart. Apply at a minimum of 10 gal water by ground and 2 gal by air.
  • chlorantraniliprole, lambda-cyhalothrin (Besiege) at 5.0 to 10.0 fl oz/A (0.049 to 0.098 lb ai/A). PHI 21 days. Do not exceed a total of 28.0 fl oz of Besiege or 0.09 lb ai of lambda-cyhalothrin-containing products or 0.2 lb ai of chlorantraniliprole-containing products per acre per year. Make no more than 4 applications per acre per crop. Only use non-ionic surfactant (NIS).
  • cyantraniliprole (Exirel) at 0.045 to 0.11 lb ai/A or 7 to 17 fluid oz/A. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Minimum application interval between treatments is 7 days. Do not apply a total of more than 0.4 lb ai/A per calendar year.
  • deltamethrin (Delta Gold) at 0.009 lb ai/A or 0.8 fl oz/A. Do not apply more than 1.5 fl oz of Delta Gold per acre on canola in one growing season. Allow 7 days between applications. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. When applying by air, apply a minimum of 2 gal water per acre and 5 gal of water by ground.
  • gamma-cyhalothrin (Declare) at 0.0075 to 0.015 lb ai/A or 0.77 to 1.54 fl oz/A. PHI 7 days. Minimum interval between applications 5 days. Do not apply more than 0.045 lb ai per acre per season. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. When applying by air, apply a minimum of 2 gal water per acre.
  • lambda-cyhalothrin (LambdaStar Plus) at 0.015 to 0.03 lb ai/A or 0.96 to 1.92 fl oz/A. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. Do not apply more than 0.09 lb ai (0.36 pint) per acre per year. Apply a minimum of 10 gal per acre for ground applications or 2 gal per acre for air applications.
  • pyrethrins, piperonyl butoxide (Pyronyl Crop Spray) at 0.004 to 0.050 lb ai/A or 1 to 12 fl oz./A. Designed as a pre-harvest spray when other materials cannot be used due to PHI restrictions.
  • zeta-cypermethrin (Mustang) at 4.3 fl oz/A or 0.05 lb ai/A. PHI 7 days. Do not apply more than 25.8 oz of product or 0.3 lb of active ingredient per acre per season. Do not make applications less than 7 days apart.

Management-chemical control (Seed Treatment)

  • clothianidin (Poncho 600, others). Seed treatment. Apply at 3.84 fl oz/100 lb seed for low-to-moderate insect pressure, 5.12 fl oz/100 lb seed for moderate pressure and 10.23 fl oz/100 lb seed under high-to-extreme insect pressure. Do not apply more than 0.2 lb of active ingredient clothianidin per acre per year.
  • imidacloprid (Attendant 600) at 10.24 to 25.6 fl oz per hundredweight of seed. In areas where foliar insects are in high numbers, a higher application rate is recommended. Do not graze within 45 days of planting.
  • thiamethoxam, difenoconazole, mefenoxam, fludioxonil and sedaxane (Helix Vibrance) Seed treatment. Apply at 23.0 fl oz per 100 lb of seed. Do not graze for feed on treated areas for 45 days after planting.