Project Overview
Commodities
- Fruits: grapes
Practices
- Crop Production: application rate management
- Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research, participatory research
- Pest Management: chemical control, integrated pest management
Abstract:
Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is an economically important pest of many crop and ornamental plants. The adult beetle is the most substantial defoliator of grape in the upper Midwest region. With alternative management options resulting in insufficient population reduction, current management practices rely on broadcast insecticide applications targeting adults on foliage, that are hazardous to the environment, non-target organisms, and farm workers. Perimeter-focused management targets the borders of crop plots for pest control with use of a killing agent, preventing incoming economically damaging insects from entering an interior. Attract-and-Kill (A&K) strengthens the edge-effect leveraged in perimeter-focused management by integrating the use of pest-specific, semiochemical attractant lures with the killing agent on a substrate. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of A&K and Perimeter Spray applied to grape block perimeters on 1) P. japonica adult abundance and 2) grape foliar injury, compared to grower standard broadcast pesticide programs. In the A&K treatment, commercial lures were deployed along the perimeter of the plot. In the combined A&K and Perimeter Spray plots, a border application of Sevin XLR PLUS (carbaryl) was applied every 15-18 days. Grower Standard plots followed the pesticide schedule selected by each grower, typically involving one to four full‑block insecticide applications across the growing season. Across two growing seasons (2024-2025), beetle abundance and defoliation did not differ significantly among treatments. A&K and Perimeter Spray performed comparably to each other and to the grower standard while reducing treated surface area by 88% and application time by 78%, demonstrating that the Perimeter Spray provided the most cost-effective option with an 88% reduction in cost relative to the Grower Standard. Evaluating the potential of A&K and Perimeter Spray as reduced‑input management tools will help Wisconsin grape growers consider practices that maintain pest suppression while lowering environmental impacts, direct costs and reliance on broadcast applications.
Results of the project was presented to grape growers at the Growing Wisconsin Conference 2026 and Wisconsin Grape Growers field days. A survey was conducted to measure knowledge gained and interest in perimeter-based management. Understanding the effectiveness and potential to use this method of P. japonica control will provide Wisconsin vineyard growers with an alternative practice that would be cost effective and reduce environmental impacts while maintaining pest control within economic thresholds compared to conventional methods.
Project objectives:
The expected action outcomes are 1) Wisconsin growers would be able to confidently implement A&K or Perimeter Spray alone methods into their management practices to effectively control P. japonica in their vineyards and 2) there is a reduction in the adverse consequences of conventional pesticide application through the implementation of A&K or Perimeter Spray management.
The learning outcomes of this project is to further grower knowledge of the importance of practicing environmentally sound agricultural practices and raise their awareness of cost-effective strategies to integrate those practices. Attract-and-Kill reduces dependence on insecticides through the use of pest-specific lures and decreases the impacts on non-target beneficial insects. Grower implementation of this strategy will achieve equivalent pest control levels as conventional means, as seen through yield measurements and defoliation reduction. Outcomes will be measured through post-study surveys at grower conferences to collect data from the vineyard community on their understanding and considerations for implementation of A&K or Perimeter Spray methods. A presentation conveying the results of the treatment comparison (Attract-and-Kill, Perimeter spray alone, and Grower Standard) will be given to audiences of Wisconsin vineyard growers at the Growing Wisconsin Conference and at grape field days.