Relationship Between Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug ( Halyomorpha halys ) and Fumonisin Contamination of Field Corn in the Mid-Atlantic U.S

Brown marmorated stink bug ( Stål) is an invasive agricultural pest that causes severe damage to many crops. To determine potential associations between feeding damage, infection, and mycotoxin contamination in field corn, a field survey was conducted in eight counties in Virginia. Results indicated an association between feeding damage and fumonisin contamination. Subsequent field experiments in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia examined the ability of to increase (Sacc.) Nirenberg infection and fumonisin concentrations in corn. At the milk stage, (0 or 4 adults) and (with or without inoculum) treatments were applied to bagged ears in a two by two factorial randomized complete block design with 12 replicates. treatments increased levels of feeding damage ( < 0.0001) and infection ( = 0.0380). Interaction between and treatments influenced severity of infection ( = 0.0018) and fumonisin concentrations ( = 0.0360). Results suggest has the ability to increase both infection and fumonisin concentrations in field corn. Further studies are needed to understand mechanisms by which increases fumonisin and to develop management strategies to mitigate impacts of on field corn in the region.