Contact Us

John Connett

Integrated Pest Management

College of Ag and Natural Resources

Ecosystem Science and Management

Department #3354

1000 E. University Ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-5022

Email: IPMhelp@uwyo.edu

Find us on Twitter (Link opens a new window)

Pest Keys

zebra caterpillar on beet leaf

Common Wyoming Vegetable & Fruit Pest Identification Keys 

These keys were developed for the 51 crops covered in “Wyoming Vegetable & Fruit Growing Guide Bulletin-1340”.

Addtional info for those who would like to know more about how these keys work

Identification is the first step in Integrated Pest Management (IPM). After a pest identification is made with the matrix key, a link to the pertinent section of the online PDF file of Bulletin-1340 is provided the to the user to help confirm the identification and help  the grower to learn more about the pest causing the damage. In addition, a link is provided to the Purdue University online version of the “2022 Midwest Vegetable Guide” publication or extension bulletin that lists current control options for the vegetable and the pest. Control option attributes at the “Midwest Vegetable Guide” site can be searched to include information on non-pesticide control, organic insecticides, synthetic insecticides, and other important decisions with management implications, such as the required pre-harvest interval for an insecticide. If the pest and crop combination is not covered in the “Midwest Vegetable Guide” publication, a link to an applicable university extension bulletin pertaining to the pest and the crop is provided to the user.

Matrix Identification Keys

A matrix key, such as this one constructed with Lucid software, is easy to use but the terminology used by the application needs to be explained. A matrix key can be created for the identification of many things form soil, fungi, plants and animals. Therefore, matrix key producing software therefore uses the generic terms such as “Features” (which will be the part of the plant damaged), “States” (the type of damage inflicted), and “Entities” (the pest(s) that inflict that type of damage).

When you select a key to start, such as the one for tomato pests a window will open with four frames titled: “Features Available”, ”Entities Remaining”, “Features Chosen”, and “Entities Discarded”. The first step is to left click in the “Features Available” window and click the “Expand Tree” button just above that window. This will show thumbnail sized photos of the types of pest damage caused to the various parts of the tomato plant. If no thumbnail photos are visible at first, click on the “Feature Thumbnail” button.

For example, your plants have small pits chewed into the leaves you would left click on that state’s check box under the “Plant physically damaged” features list. Flea beetles inflict a very distinctive damage and when selected it immediately discards all the other “Entities” except for the adults of flea beetles in the genus Epitrix. You can left click on thumbnail photos to get to view the full sized image. You can also click on the any of the links associated with the entity to learn more about the pest, the pest density that inflicts economic injury and what control options you have that are compatible with how you farm.

In some cases, the plant damage symptoms observed can be from more than one type of pest and may be from nutrient or water stress, herbicide drift, or plant disease. Information for these other possible plant damage causing entities is also provided to help the user to determine what is causing the tomato damage.

You can also contact, via email: IPMhelp@uwyo.edu if you need additional help with your pest management for your crop.

Matrix Key Helpful Hints can be found at: http://idtools.org/lucid_best_practices.php

Link back to pest info page.

 
Contact Us

John Connett

Integrated Pest Management

College of Ag and Natural Resources

Ecosystem Science and Management

Department #3354

1000 E. University Ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-5022

Email: IPMhelp@uwyo.edu

Find us on Twitter (Link opens a new window)