J. R. Eye**, Entomologist
The Mexican bean beetle is the most widespread and injurious insect
pest of field and garden beans in New Mexico. Dry beans contribute
approximately 13 percent of the cash income and rank fourth in value among
the state's agricultural crops. Snap beans are grown for marketing, canning
or freezing in practically all the irrigated valleys and constitute one of
the most important green veretables for table use.
During the 1923-34 period, entomologists of the United States
Department of Agriculture investigated the habits of the bean beetle and
its susceptibility to insecticides in the dry-farming area of the ostancia
Valley. Information concerning the habits of the beetle in the irrigated
valleys, however, is extremely limited and many of the insecticides
recommended for its control on dry beans leave poisonous residues and
hence are not safe for use on snap beans. Moreover, insecticides of the
arsenical group are slow in their toxic action to the insect and often
burn bean foliage under conditions of hi^h temperatures and moisture induced by summer rains or frequent irrigation. To supply growers in the
irrigated valleys of southern New Mexico with basic information leading
to satisfactory control of this insect, research was started in 1945.
These investigations included procedures designed to answer questions such
as: How and when does the bean beetle spend the winter? '..Tien does it
appear and commence reproducing in the spring? How many generations occur
each season? \Jhat planting dates are likely to produce a crop most free
from injury? l/hat poisons are best far killing the adults and larva?
NMSU Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Publications
Digital Identifier
UAAPp001035_001
Is Part Of
Mexican bean beetle control on snap peas in the Mesilla Valley
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Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library.
Type
Text
Format
image/tiff
Language
eng
OCR
J. R. Eye**, Entomologist
The Mexican bean beetle is the most widespread and injurious insect
pest of field and garden beans in New Mexico. Dry beans contribute
approximately 13 percent of the cash income and rank fourth in value among
the state's agricultural crops. Snap beans are grown for marketing, canning
or freezing in practically all the irrigated valleys and constitute one of
the most important green veretables for table use.
During the 1923-34 period, entomologists of the United States
Department of Agriculture investigated the habits of the bean beetle and
its susceptibility to insecticides in the dry-farming area of the ostancia
Valley. Information concerning the habits of the beetle in the irrigated
valleys, however, is extremely limited and many of the insecticides
recommended for its control on dry beans leave poisonous residues and
hence are not safe for use on snap beans. Moreover, insecticides of the
arsenical group are slow in their toxic action to the insect and often
burn bean foliage under conditions of hi^h temperatures and moisture induced by summer rains or frequent irrigation. To supply growers in the
irrigated valleys of southern New Mexico with basic information leading
to satisfactory control of this insect, research was started in 1945.
These investigations included procedures designed to answer questions such
as: How and when does the bean beetle spend the winter? '..Tien does it
appear and commence reproducing in the spring? How many generations occur
each season? \Jhat planting dates are likely to produce a crop most free
from injury? l/hat poisons are best far killing the adults and larva?
