The Rationale for Areawide Management of Heliothis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the dynamics and host plant relationships of Heliothis populations as they develop seasonally in the Mississippi Delta region, and the implications they have on strategies for Heliothis management. It will also consider the progress that has been made on various methods of control that might be considered for areawide management of Heliothis populations. Although much additional ecological information is needed about different Heliothis ecosystems, the available information strongly supports the rationale of attacking Heliothis populations during the first seasonal generation, and possibly also during the second generation, in an organized manner for the purpose of maintaining the total population at a point where significant damage to crops would not occur throughout the growing season. In essence, what is proposed is to fully examine the possibilities of developing the technology and applying the well-recognized but little practiced preventive entomology to cope with the nation's most destructive and ecologically disruptive pest problem.