Nation mobilizes against invading kudzu bug with Clemson conference

Published: September 7, 2012

Adult Kudzu Bug image by: U.S. Department of Agriculture

BLACKVILLE, S.C. — A sneak attack in Georgia three years ago gave the bean plataspid — an invasive insect locally known as the kudzu bug — its first foothold in the United States.

But scientists, farmers and agriculture experts have mobilized to fight back. They're devising strategy in a national conference Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Clemson University's Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, S.C.

"This pest has spread rapidly in the United States in just a couple of growing seasons," said Jeremy Greene, the Clemson Extension entomologist who organized the conference and field day in Blackville. "It's a problem on soybeans that has become an economic issue, so we're looking for ways to address that problem."

Both the United Soybean Board and the South Carolina Soybean Board are helping sponsor the conference, which will draw scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Clemson, North Carolina State University and the University of Georgia to investigate methods to control the pest.

They'll compare notes on how different varieties of soybeans hold up to the bug, what insecticides and bio-control methods work best and how yields in infected soybean fields vary depending on planting dates and maturity groups.

Bean plataspids, also known as "lablab" bugs, originated in Asia, where they are pests of legumes such as soybeans. Like their stink-bug cousins, kudzu bugs emit a foul odor. They also feed hungrily on kudzu, which gives them their local nickname. 

Kudzu and soybeans are both legumes, so the bug happily munches on either. But while South Carolinians might be pleased to see the bug chow down on kudzu, soybeans are another matter. The crop covers more than 350,000 acres in the state, bringing in more than $100 million a year, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

"The kudzu bug already has proved to be a problem in the areas it has infected, and it has the potential to be a significant agricultural pest nationally," Greene said. 

Since its initial appearance in Barrow County, Ga., the bug has spread across the Southeast from Florida to Virginia and Tennessee.

The Clemson conference will allow scientists an opportunity to tour soybean fields at the Edisto facility where Greene and his colleagues have planted test plots to measure different control methods.

Farmers may attend the meeting free of charge. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Edisto Research and Education Center at 64 Research Road, Blackville.

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