We have found a few corn fields in the Bothwell and Strathroy area that have had above threshold numbers of WBC eggs. I strongly recommend that late planted corn fields that are not in full tassel yet be scouted this week and next. Given that we are at or close to peak moth flight, that […]
I realize that I am bombarding you guys with WBC blog entries but we are entering a critical time for scouting and WBC management. I don’t want to find out that you couldn’t find all of the information you needed to effectively monitor and determine if you needed to control this pest. Here are some […]
We are nearing or at peak flight for WBC. This is nearly 3 weeks ahead of last year. Much of the corn crop is starting to be less attractive for them. Late planted fields not in tassel yet will still be their target but if those are not available, then they will move on to […]
I have heard of grower who is going to spray his corn next week because there have been a lot of WBC moths flying around. This is not an acceptable practice. Trap counts do not necessarily reflect what is going on in the field. It simply tells us when to expect peak egg laying. Scouting […]
I was starting to doubt my abilities to properly scout for WBC eggs, given my height. I walked a lot of fields last year with zero success. I was really good at finding larvae in the fall though so clearly there were eggs to be found earlier that year. You start to feel somewhat […]
What Moths Prefer– Moths prefer laying their eggs in corn before it tassels. After the crop is in tassel, it will prefer neighbouring fields that are less advanced in crop stage OR they move to dry beans and other host crops (like snap beans, sweet corn etc). Pick the tallest and healthiest looking fields that […]
Lots more WBC moths have been captured in Ontario in the last couple of weeks. We have been having some technical difficulties with our online trapping system and some participants are still not entering their trap data or site information. But from the data that we have been able to collect, I can say […]
With this kind of heat AND wheat harvest just around the corner, we should keep an eye out for spidermite activity in both seed corn and soybeans. I put together a pretty detailed article last year in the CropPest Ontario Newsletter. Visit it to familiarize yourself with what signs to look for. It is very […]
The Midwest is alive with WBC moths. Moths have been captured this year much earlier and in higher numbers in Michigan, Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania. Current Trap Catch Maps are available at: Ontario Michigan Ohio This increases our risk of having eggs laid in corn, since corn was planted so early this year and is […]
On occasion we see this odd looking injury in corn in Ontario. It can be deceiving as the culprit that did the damage is usually long gone. Only once the whorl of the corn opens up is the damage noticeable. Stink bug injury is often confused with mechanical injury from the sprayer or even herbicide […]
There have been 5 western bean cutworm moths found in traps so far in Ontario. All have been in the southwestern part of the province. First two were caught on June 14th! To put things into perpective, last year it took until July 12th to catch a total of 5 moths in the province so […]
Our first weekly soybean aphid scouting map is now available. Click on the link below to see it. Ontario Soybean Aphid Scouting Map for Week of June 14th 2010 So far, no aphids have been found at our sites though I am aware of soybean fields near Palmyra and Ottawa with soybean aphids in them. […]
I had the fortune of speaking with specialists at the University of Delaware (Galen Dively and Joanne Whalen) yesterday and learned more about these grass sawflies. Delaware finds them in many of their fields every year and scouts early each season to see if they are going to be a problem. Here is what I’ve […]
There have been a few sightings of large masses of rose chafer adults in corn, soybeans and even other crops like strawberries. These adults are known to be pests in grapes and well, roses. Even though the masses of adults look alarming, they are not going to do much damage to the corn and soybeans. […]
Several wheat fields were found with grass sawfly north of London from Hyde Park to Kintore and St. Marys. Damage averaged anywhere from 3 heads clipped per square meter to 30 heads clipped per square meter! Reports have also come in from Rodney, Glencoe, Molesworth, Brussels and now northern Huron County. Scout fields to determine […]