Boll Rot Associated with Redbanded Stink Bug, Piezodorus guildinii, Field Infestation

Abstract

Pathogens that infect seed and lint of developing green bolls are transmitted by both the southern green (Nezara viridula) and brown (Euschistus servus) stink bugs via their piercing-sucking feeding mechanism.  The primary difficulty of detecting infection early is that the outer boll walls are asymptomatic.  Here, we report an inner boll rot disease that occurred following a redbanded stink bug (RBSB) infestation of a central Texas field.  The RBSB is a significant pest of soybeans and known to attack cotton.  From 100 bolls randomly collected, 93% with inner puncture wounds were also diseased.  RBSB were then collected from fields in the same vicinity and caged with greenhouse grown bolls.  Similarly, over 90% of the bolls with puncture wounds had disease symptoms.  Collectively, these data indicated that the piercing-sucking RBSB is a potential inner boll disease agent vector, and warrants further study to identify its potency and the respective microorganisms transmitted.