Baute Bug Blog

Thanks for the Heads-up Bob Buis!  Bob reports that he has seen a field with 5% of the plants cut by cutworm in the Lighthouse Cove (Tilbury) area. Cutting indicates that the cutworm larvae are bigger and more mature and may be difficult to control.  Now that corn fields are emerging, they need to be scouted every 5 days for leaf feeding and cutting.   Don’t assume that insecticide seed treatments or Bt corn will control them since these products typically only work well on the younger, smaller larvae.  This year’s difficult spring has allowed cutworm larvae to feed and grow on the weeds that didn’t get an early burn down while waiting for the corn to come up.   Refer to the OMAFRA Agronomy Guide for thresholds  http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub811/3bcutw.htm   If management is required, spray late in the evening when the larvae are actively feeding.

Happy Scouting and Don’t Forget your Rubber Boots!

Since there is not much crop up yet to spot feeding injury on, there really is not much happening yet on the insect front.  However, anyone that did push planting and planted into too wet or cool soils, or deep planted may start seeing some issues when the crops starts to emerge.  Millipedes and slugs in particular could be a problem this year given how wet it was and neither are controlled by the insecticide seed treatments that everyone is using and expecting to control all things with.  It is really important to get the message out to stop planting too early when the soil is not fit and/or too deep as it is just giving the seed to these pests.  And these insecticide seed treatments do not control everything out there.

Bean leaf beetles adults are out now.  Not sure what kind of populations we are going to see this year.  But with overall planting being on the later side, this could put us at risk for an extended pod feeding period into mid September, as these critters like to feed on late planted soys since the pods would still be green and succulent then.  But we will see.

And as for soybean aphids..well I didn’t find any on the buckthorn I scout every year.  And there have been very few reports anywhere in the states either.   It could just be that we are not looking in the right places, as it doesn’t take much of a colony to give us a decent population on soybeans each year.  But it is really strange that we haven’t found something yet, given the record aphid catches we experienced in the fall in the suction traps.  I’m not willing to say that aphids won’t be a problem this year though.  They’ve taught me to never write them off or claim a “No Aphid Year”.

As always, if you are seeing anything out there..let me know!

Alfalfa Weevil – We are starting to see a lot more alfalfa weevil larvae in the fields we are scouting.  Many fields in southwestern Ontario are ready or close to being ready to be cut.  I know you are busy trying to get everything planted finally, but I encourage guys to get out and cut the hay (if field is ready) to reduce the risk of injury from alfalfa weevil larvae.  If fields are not fit or ready to cut, you’ll need to scout and determine if the larvae are reaching threshold.  Again, cutting is the first choice for management if possible, if it is not, then spray at threshold.

Armyworm – It was around this time last year we started to see armyworm larvae appear in the fields.  We did catch a few moths in April and with all of the storm fronts that continued to come our way, there could have been more blown into Ontario.  Scout both the borders and randomly within wheat fields.  And soon to emerge corn fields are at risk too.  There were so many fields with weeds that didn’t get sprayed until now that were ideal for the moths to lay their eggs on.   Larvae could have survived on those weeds until the crop pops up out of the ground.  And they will be bigger (and harder to kill) when they do move over to the crop.

Let me know if you find any so we can get the word out!

I’m heading out to the fields today so I will have more to report on tonight.  But at the breakfast meeting yesterday a question about a product label came up and I thought it would be handy to provide you with the link to PMRA’s Label Search Site at:  http://pr-rp.pmra-arla.gc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=34,17551&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Use the drop down menu to select “Product Name” or “Active Ingredient” and then type in the name of the product or a.i. that you are looking for under “Criteria”.   When you are done, hit “Submit Search Requirements”.  You will get a list of the registered products for Canada that fit your “Criteria”.  Click on the “Registration Number” on the far left for the specific product that you were searching for.  Don’t click on the actual product name that shows up in the middle of the row, as that just gives you the registration dates of the product and other details that you don’t probably need.  Once you click on the “Registration Number” it will download the latest copy of the product label that is available through PMRA.

Just in case some of you are keen and plan to be scotuing this long weekend, there are a few critters you should be watching for.

Alfalfa weevil (AW) larvae are starting in some fields.  So far just the smaller 1st and 2nd instars but warmer weather will help them grow too.  Stay ahead of any infestations by scouting the same field often. 

Cereal leaf beetle (CLB) adults have also been active and I am expecting some larvae to be feeding soon.  Wheat fields should be scouted as it is really important to keep any infestations from causing damage to especially the flag leaf. 

More info on AW and CLB management was provided in this week’s CropPest at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croppest/2009/02cpo09.htm

Soybean aphids on buckthorn and bean leaf beetles have not been sighted yet.  If you are finding them, let me know!

Have a fantastic weekend and I hope the rain stay away so we can dry out a bit!