It’s been quite a week and it’s only Tuesday. Many of you are calling about one of these pest issues so hopefully I can help answer all of your questions here. Grass Sawfly in Wheat: Once you start to see sawfly feeding (see previous blog for pics and details) the feeding damage is nearly done. […]
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 […]
Despite all this rain, pests are still doing quite well out there, as long as they have something to eat. We had a lot of snow cover this winter which has helped insulate any insects that overwinter and the cool wet soils are helping these soil pests remain active. Some are just waiting for their […]
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) […]
Fact or Fiction #2 – “Some trap sites in 2010 were catching 1000s of moths per day!” This is completely false. At least from the data that came in to me from the 471 trap sites being monitored last year. No trap location caught more than 600 moths in ONE WEEK, let alone on a […]
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, […]
Some of you may have heard about this one in the news recently. The brown marmorated stink bug, BMSB for short, is the next invasive species that we need to be concerned about. It’s a triple threat since it not only feeds on hort crops but also field crops and overwinters in homes, becoming a […]
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 […]
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 […]
An “unprecidented” fall armyworm moth flight catch in Kentucky gives us early warning to a potential threat here. The University of Kentucky is reporting the highest catches recorded in the last 15 years. What does that mean for us? If weather fronts or leftovers of a hurricane pass over Kentucky and push towards us, they […]
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 […]
I was sent a message today from Deb Campbell of Syngenta Seeds, that they are finding fall armyworm in corn in Grey, Perth, Oxford, Huron and Simcoe counties. Infestations are low and the larvae are small but it is something to keep an eye on. There could be fields with heavier infestations. Also, both Michigan […]
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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 […]
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 […]