Geraniums Could Help Control Japanese Beetle

**"* H* <g*@charter.net>**

This is from the USDA March 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. 
Interesting information for gardeners.

STORY LEAD:
Geraniums Could Help Control Devastating Japanese Beetle
___________________________________________

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, 
which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant 
industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the 
Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, can feast on a wide variety of plants, 
including ornamentals, soybean, maize, fruits and vegetables. But within 30 
minutes of consuming geranium petals, the beetle rolls over on its back, its 
legs and antennae slowly twitch, and it remains paralyzed for several hours. 
The beetles typically recover within 24 hours when paralyzed under 
laboratory conditions, but they often succumb to death under field 
conditions after predators spot and devour the beetles while they are 
helpless.

ARS entomologist Chris Ranger at the agency's Application Technology 
Research Unit in Wooster, Ohio, is working on developing a way to use 
geraniums to control the beetles.

Ohio and neighboring Michigan are some of the largest producers of 
horticultural plants, most of them grown in greenhouses. Other research to 
benefit the horticultural industry includes that of Susan Stieve, curator of 
Ohio State University's Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Stieve is working with OSU collaborators and horticulturist Jonathan Frantz 
of the ARS Greenhouse Production Research Group in Toledo, Ohio, to see 
whether a specialized breed of begonias can tolerate colder temperatures.

The scientists are screening the begonias at two production temperatures: 5 
degrees Fahrenheit colder than normal, and 10 degrees F colder than normal. 
Begonias are found naturally in a wide variety of climates and 
altitudes--ecological clues that can be used to identify promising 
germplasm. Being able to grow begonias at cooler temperatures could reduce 
greenhouse heating bills for ornamental growers in northern climates.

Read more about this research in the March 2010 issue of Agricultural 
Research magazine.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar10/garden0310.htm

ARS is U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal intramural scientific 
research agency.
___________________________________________

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.  To file a 
complaint of discrimination, write:  USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 
1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 
795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
___________________________________________

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