Susceptibility of peanut cultivars to peanut burrower bug feeding injury in Georgia

The peanut burrower bug (PBB), Pangaeus bilineatus (Say), is a polyphagous, subterranean insect belonging to the order Hemiptera, family Cydnidae, and it is a major pest of peanut in the southeastern United States. PBB adults and nymphs have piercing sucking mouthparts that penetrate the outer hull of a peanut pod and feed on the seed inside, which causes blemishes to the seed and leads to loss of crop value. Currently there are no effective chemical control options available for PBB management. Investigating host plant resistance to PBB feeding within commercial lines could be the first step in developing new pest management strategies. Ten commercial runner type peanut cultivars were evaluated in field trials to assess susceptibility of PBB feeding based on hull strength between 2016-2020. GA-06G, which is the predominately grown cultivar in Georgia, was the most susceptible to PBB injury in this study. However, hull strength and feeding position were not significant factors that led to GA-06Gs susceptibility. Although the reasons for its susceptibility to PBB feeding are still unclear, planting alternative cultivars of peanuts in fields with a history of PBB injury is now recommended.