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 the plants, scout for pod feeding too. Additional information on scouting is available in detail on recent blog entries.
A few people have asked what the feeding damage by WBC looks like on dry beans. Remember, it is nearly impossible to find the actual egg masses or larvae in dry beans so you need to focus efforts on scouting for pod feeding damage.
Here are a few pics from Chris DiFonzo at Michigan State University.
WBC leaf feeding is in the form of small pinholes. Pod feeding starts as surface scars and then they chew an entry hole into the pod to crawl in and feed on the seed.
Don’t confuse bean leaf beetle leaf feeding for WBC. Bean leaf beetles chew a much bigger shothole into the leaf compared to the tiny larvae of western bean cutworm.