A winter wheat field near Owen Sound has 4 to 5 acres of “missing plants”, cut off at the soil level. Not many insects could do that kind of damage this time of year. It sounds like a case of winter cutworm. It was to the day, 4 years ago when I wrote a CropPest […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Despite the heat, western bean cutworm activity is increasing. Trap catches over the past week have climbed significantly, indicating that peak flight is here or soon to be here. The counties that have accumulated the most moth catches so far include Chatham-Kent (544), Lambton (256), Middlesex (244), Huron (206), Haldimand-Norfolk (138), Essex (155) and Elgin […]
Many questions are starting to come in regarding WBC. Just to help clarify what the action thresholds for western bean cutworm are, here is a quick summary: In Corn: Scout 10 plants in a row in 10 areas of the field. In non-Bt corn or transgenic corn that does not provide any protection against WBC […]
There is a lot happening out there. I am sure I am not aware of half of the infestations that are going on but at least I will report on what I do know. Western bean cutworm – Hot spot egg mass locations continue to be in the Bothwell area with now fields in the […]
It’s time to start scouting soybeans to make sure soybean aphids are not reaching threshold. A few fields that my crew has been monitoring have continued to rise in aphid numbers and are getting closer to threshold. There are natural enemies present though and they could still win the battle. We’ve seen some fields with […]
I was hoping this was a one time pest that showed up last year. But there have been some wheat fields in the Highgate/Muirkirk to Kerwood areas that are seeing grass sawfly feeding. It is easier to identify grass sawfly since they feed during the day. They also have a characteristic feeding habit of clipping […]
Lots of reports are coming in of black cutworm and armyworm damage in Ontario. Black cutworm has been found feeding in numerous corn fields and even an alfalfa field. Locations that I know of so far include fields near: Parkhill, Watford, Embro (alfalfa field), Renfrew County, and parts of West Elgin. True armyworm has also […]
States to the south of us have been reporting intense black cutworm moth captures over the last few weeks. The continuous storm fronts that keep moving across Ontario could be carrying some of these moths to us. In addition, rain has kept us from getting into the fields to manage the annual weeds (especially chickweed) […]
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