There have been some reports of alfalfa weevil causing damage in some stands and I was out this week to have a look at some fields. The weevils are certainly out there. Considering that some alfalfa fields are hurting from frost damage, some produces may consider holding off on the first cut to let the […]
Alfalfa Weevil Reports from Michigan and Iowa indicate that alfalfa weevils were activity is early this year. We’ve had some fairly warm weather earlier this spring and the weevils likely have had a bit of a head start. I was out in some fields in Oxford this week and I found some early instar larvae […]
As we gear up for the 2012 season we are again looking for participants in the Western Bean Cutworm Trap Network monitoring program. Of particular need is to have more traps in Elgin and Haldimand/Norfolk County. Information on the trap network can be found on the Canadian Corn Pest Coalition website. If you would like to […]
Co-Author: Cara McCreary, and Jocelyn Smith, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus The Canadian Corn Refuge Hybrid Selector is a web-based tool that has been developed through collaboration of the Canadian Corn Pest Coalition, the Ontario Corn Committee, and the Canadian Seed Trade Association to provide all the information needed to follow up-to-date insect resistance management (IRM) […]
Some corn fields may be at risk of extended WBC feeding this fall, particularly those that were late planted or are situated where egg laying occurred over a wider window. This year in particular, we are seeing a wide range of larval sizes because of the extended egg laying period that took place across much […]
It’s time to get out and scout for WBC damage in dry beans. Based on trap counts we are now confident that some counties experienced peak flight the last week of July and others the first week of August. Though I will admit that some trap sites are still catching lots of moths, especially the […]
It has been a few years for some since they have had to worry about soybean aphids, let alone make a spray decision. So I want to cover off the key points you need to know through some of the repeat questions that have been coming in. Anyone with more questions after reading this, please […]
I am getting a lot of emails with photos from keen reps who think they have found Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB). I think it is awesome that everyone is taking this pest seriously and keeping an eye out for it in the fields but they are quickly learning that there are many other stink […]
The 2011 season is clearly not like 2010. We are not seeing a province wide WBC peak flight like last year. Based on the trap counts that came in this week, it appears that some counties experienced peak moth flight last week (August 1st to 7th) while other counties are still going strong and may […]
Reports are coming in late last week of fields in Eastern Ontario reaching well above threshold levels for soybean aphids. Just a few weeks prior, these fields had only 30 to 40 per plant. I suspect other fields in even Central and Southern Ontario will also experience this kind of rapid increase as daytime and […]
As mentioned yesterday, last week trap catches shot up significantly. I’ve included a graph to show just how big of a flight we are experiencing this year compared to previous years. Ontario 2009 2010 2011 Averages I’ve also included an updated graph showing the counties that have been catching the highest average number moths per […]
If you can believe it, we have not reached WBC peak moth flight yet! Trap counts continue to climb and some participants are having a hard time counting them all. During this intense period, I do recommend that our trap participants check their traps more than once a week, simply to keep on top of […]
Some scouts are starting to notice tiny WBC larvae that have hatched that crawling in the whorl or making their way down to the ear of the plants. To help you know whether they are WBC larvae, here are some photos. You can click on them to enlarge them. They start out with spots along […]
I’ve been getting asked this a lot over the last few weeks so I thought I had better finally write a quick blog on it. What is this insect? It’s a red-headed flea beetle. Very common in soybeans but even more abundant this year, showing up in other crops too. Defoliation in corn is not […]
Trap counts sent in to the network this week from last week’s moth catches indicate that moth flight increased dramatically. And from tweets on Twitter and emails coming in from participants, even higher numbers are being caught this week in some traps. So we haven’t quite reached peak moth flight yet here in Ontario. The […]