IPM Update

As it seems moth numbers are starting to dwindle all over the state it is a good time to look back on what we have found this spring. As noted previously, St. Thomas was the only area that received significant numbers of true armyworm or cutworm moths. When looking at the graph above you can see the trap locations and the sporadic numbers throughout. Populations of both of these species are notoriously spotty. This year's network, I believe, has confirmed this once again.

Due to their sporadic nature it is very hard to know if and when you may have an issue on your own farm with these species. This unknown is why we typically rely on a pre-season application of insecticide as a little insurance policy against these pests. Two issues arise with this type of management. The first issue is that this certainly does not follow the IPM framework of spraying only when a pest population is present and at threshold levels. The second issue, which also has become apparent this year is the timing of the insecticide application may often be wrong for the pest. St. Thomas's significant flight happened on May 28^th. This means any insecticide applied more than a day or two before would have little to no affect on these pests. The moral of this means you are not limiting your damage simply by placing an insecticide up front with your burn down. If you had an insecticide placed on your fields prior to the significant flight you would still have to scout and possibly spray if thresholds were reached just like your neighbor who did not apply an insecticide.

Another question often raised with these pest centers around Bt corn and its control on these pests. Traited corn has become somewhat a norm in much of our industry, however it is not a solution to all problems. A few lines of Herculex Products do have activity on black cutworm, however none of the Bt lines can claim control of true armyworm.

All of these facts and more lead to the conclusion that we all must be vigilant in scouting for pest pressure and understanding pests life cycles and tendencies. Hopefully you can find some help in information such as these posts, and as always feel free to contact me for any additional assistance you may need.