Grape Cultivar Feeding Preference of Adult Japanese Beetles

Abstract

The Japanese beetle is a major insect pest of grapes in the eastern United States. An examination of Japanese beetle preference for currently grown grape cultivars would be useful to growers in developing pest control strategies with reduced chemical inputs. The objective of this study was to examine grape cultivar preference of Japanese beetles for commercially available grape cultivars in both cage choice and field experiments. Outdoor cage choice screening studies included 32 grape cultivars from various Vitis species and were conducted at the Kentucky State University Research Farm in Frankfort, KY. Feeding preference was determined by examining incidence of damage (percent of leaves damaged per vine) and leaf area loss, which was rated as 0 pt, 0%; 1 pt, 1% to 10%; 2 pt, 11% to 20%; 3 pt, 21% to 30%; 4 pt, 31% to 40%; 5 pt, 41% to 50%; 6 pt, 51% to 60%; and 7 pt, more than 60%, by leaf position from the first (shoot tip) to 10th leaves. Analysis of variance indicated that there were significant differences in Japanese beetle leaf damage for cultivar and leaf position main effects. Leaf damage by Japanese beetles varied by leaf position on the shoot, with the fourth through sixth leaves from the tip with the most severe damage. Generally, cultivars showing an incidence of damage greater than 70% were either European or French hybrid cultivars, and those with less than 70% incidence of damage were either American cultivars or American cultivars with a V. labrusca background. The grape cultivars Marquis, Reliance, Catawba, Concord Seedless, Concord, Edelweiss, and Einset showed promise as selections for growers interested in reduced chemical inputs for control of Japanese beetles.