Risk of cold-hardy apple cultivars for injury from the brown marmorated stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

An invasive species, the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), has emerged as a serious pest of orchard crops in the United States with the highest economic losses to date in Mid-Atlantic apple, Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosales: Rosaceae). If populations continue to grow and spread in the Midwest, H. halys has the potential to become a significant apple pest in the region. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk for injury from H. halys to several popular cold-hardy apple cultivars (Haralson, Honeycrisp, and Zestar!) grown in the Midwestern United States utilizing both field no-choice tests and laboratory choice tests at multiple timings. Results from the field no-choice tests revealed a greater risk for Honeycrisp from H. halys injury compared with Zestar! in mid-August. Results from the laboratory choice tests revealed a greater risk for injury by H. halys for Honeycrisp compared with Zestar! at all timings tested and a greater risk for Haralson compared with Honeycrisp at a later timing. These results echo previous findings in that relative maturity of the fruit seems to play a role in determining the risk of an apple cultivar to H. halys injury. These results also serve as the first assessment of the potential impact of H. halys on different cold-hardy apple cultivars, which will help guide growers in cultivar selection and identifying which apple cultivars should be prioritized for scouting and management efforts.