Farming system and wheat cultivar affect infestation of, and parasitism on, Cephus cinctus in the Northern Great Plains

BACKGROUND Cephus cinctus infestation causes $350 million in annual losses in the Northern Great Plains. We compared infestation and parasitism of C. cinctus in spring (including Kamut; Triticum turgidum ssp. turanicum) and winter wheat cultivars grown in organic and conventional fields in Montana, USA. In the greenhouse, we compared C. cinctus preference and survival in Kamut, Gunnison, and Reeder spring wheat cultivars. RESULTS Stems cut by C. cinctus varied by farming system and the seasonality of the wheat crop. No stems of Kamut in organic fields were cut by C. cinctus, but 1.5% [±0.35% standard error (SE)] of stems in conventional spring wheat, 5% (±0.70% SE) of stems in organic winter wheat, and 20% (±0.93% SE) of stems in conventional winter wheat fields were cut by C. cinctus. More larvae of C. cinctus were parasitized in organic (27 ± 0.03% SE) compared with conventional (5 ± 0.01% SE) winter wheat fields. Cephus cinctus oviposition, survival, and the number of stems cut were lowest in Kamut compared with Gunnison and Reeder. CONCLUSION Cephus cinctus infestation was more common in winter wheat than in spring wheat. Organic fields with fewer cut stems also supported more parasitoids. Kamut is a genetic resource for developing C. cinctus‐resistant cultivars. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry Cephuscinctusis a major pest of grain crops. We found a greater infestation of C. cinctusin winter wheat and a lower preference to Kamut wheat.