Biological information:

• Common name: Cabbage Aphid
• Scientific name: Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus)
• Family or class: Aphididae

Symptoms and/or signs to watch out for:

• Leaves curling around dense colonies
• Aphids damage the plant by building up in dense, sticky clumps

Life cycle:

• Life cycle 16-50 days, shorter at higher temperatures
• Can be 15 generations in one season
• Peak populations in mid-August and mid-October

Mode of reproduction:

• Adult females give birth to live offspring throughout growing season
• During warm periods females do not need to mate
• In fall, males are produce and they mate and lay eggs

Vectors for the pest:

• Surrounding brassica weeds like wild mustard

Overwintering habit:

• Eggs laid in plant debris near the soil surface

Alternate hosts:

• Any other brassica plant, including weed species

Horticultural production information:

Preventative strategies:

• Destroy crop remnants after harvest
• Remove brassica weeds
• Plant wild-flower habitats to attract natural enemies
• Remove heavily infested plants entirely

Threshold levels:

• Control is more than 10% plant is infested
• See sequential sampling chart on UC IPM Pest Maagement Guidelines: Cole Crops

Control options:

Physical controls:

• Limit Nitrogen fertilization
• Remove heavy infestations
• Polycropping with beneficial flowers
• Squish them by hand

Biological controls:

• Ladybeetles
• Syrphid flies
• Parasitic wasps
• Lacewing larvae

Chemical controls:

-Azera, M-Pede, peppermint leaf extract, seed extract from the Chinaberry tree

Historical notes from Farm to YoU NH:

Date/circumstances observed (Pictures)

Control method used, efficacy of control method

References:

Dunn, J. A., and D. P.H Kempton. “Resistance to Attack by Brevicoryne Brassicae among Plants of Brussels Sprouts.” Annals of Applied Biology 1.11 (1972): 1-11. CAB Direct. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libproxy.unh.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1744-7348.1972.tb01266.x/epdf>.

Gill, Harsimran Kaur, Harsh Garg, and Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman. “Cabbage Aphid – Brevicoryne Brassicae Linnaeus.” Featured Creatures. University of Florida, Oct. 2013. Web. 05 May 2016.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/aphid/cabbage_aphid.htm

Murage, Nancy, Miriam Otipa, Dora Kilalo, Alfayo Ombuya, and Willis Ochilo. “Aphids on Cabbages and Kale.” Plantwise. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

http://www.plantwise.org/FullTextPDF/2013/20137804324.pdf

UMass Amherst. “Aphid, Cabbage.” Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. UMass Extension Vegetable Program, 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/aphid-cabbage

Zalom. “Cabbage Aphid, Brevicoryne Brassicae (L.), Control in Brussels Sprouts in Relation to Crop Development.” Journal of Agricultural Entomology 5.3 (1988): 161-67. Print.

https://uofnewhampshire.hosts.atlas-sys.com/illiad/illiad.dll?Action=10&Form=75&Value=588504