There are a few “facts” about our western bean cutworm research being delivered to growers at various meetings this month that are not correct. I am sure the reps are not intending to mislead growers but I thought it was a good time to get the correct message out there, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Over the…
western bean cutworm
2010 Western Bean Cutworm Trap Results for the Great Lakes Region. Numbers indicate the average number of moths accumulated per trap by county for the 2010 season. Shaded counties reported having WBC damage. Purple counties experienced economic damage (spray required or significant feeding found). *click on map to expand* Facts about WBC Trapping in 2010:…
I want to thank my loyal followers for making 2010 such a successful year for the Baute Bug Blog. I will have some pretty cool information on new pest research and management strategies to share that I recently learned about at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America. I will write about that early in 2011. And catch…
I am sure we will be talking about western bean cutworm all winter but there are a few key learnings that we gained in 2010 that I thought I would point out: 1. The dark bands behind their heads that we use to identify the larvae are not obvious until their last few stages of instars. 2. Fields with sandy…
Since my blog entry last week where I mentioned that we hadn’t found WBC feeding in dry beans yet, my crew as well as reps who have been sending photos in have found WBC pod feeding in dry bean fields at a few locations across the province. To date, sites known to have WBC pod feeding include: Talbotville and Dutton…
I’ve been in a lot of dry bean fields this week, mainly in Huron County. And I will admit that in a few fields, it was tough to sort out what was causing the damage. But so far, there are only one or two sites out of all of the ones I scouted that have even come close to having…
These next two weeks are critical for western bean cutworm scouting and management in dry beans. Peak moth flight took place at the end of July and pod feeding is typically expected 10 to 21 days after peak flight. Huron County is particularly at risk given the very high moth count for that county this year (over 26,000 moths so…
I am still hearing from people who are looking for WBC egg masses on corn leaves. But unless they are scouting very late corn that is not in tassel yet, most of the WBC will already be larvae on the tassel or more likely in the ear. So focus on scouting the ears and tassels now. But there are other…
Based on scouting observations and trap counts so far, it looks like we have finally passed the peak for western bean cutworm moth activity. Egg masses are difficult to find now in corn which tells us that the moths are no longer interested in laying eggs in that crop…unless of course there is an extremely late planted corn field in…
Jim Barclay at Hensall District Co-operative Inc. reported that an early planted otebo bean field in Tavistock has been found with WBC pod feeding injury and will be sprayed. This is a reminder to growers with early planted dry beans to get out and scout either neighbouring pre-tassel corn fields for egg masses and if you have pods already on…
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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 means there are a lot…
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 key resources to use (besides…
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 dry beans and snap beans. …
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 is the only true method…