The uniform diet allows researchers to mix in and evaluate potential control agents. The beetle, which feeds on potato plant leaves, is the most destructive potato crop pest. This aphid is a major pest of U.S. winter wheat and barley. From 1994 to 1997, ARS researchers monitored the pest in and near cultivated cereal fields in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. The scientists found that 10 grass species could sustain the pest during summer.
Volunteers can sprout from grain that escaped the harvester in the previous year.
The most important of the noncultivated grasses are Canada wildrye, crested wheatgrass and squirreltail. These structures provide protective niches for the aphid. Besides helping farmers improve their control over the aphid, the findings could aid in forecasting the next season's aphid populations. A new computer model could lead to significant savings for warehouse owners who store agricultural commodities such as peanuts, dried citrus pulp, corn and cocoa beans. The model helps warehouse owners pinpoint the right time to fumigate against almond moth infestations.