The IPM team broke up into two teams today to do a group scouting report on the field corn and one field of the soybeans. About a half dozen survey stops were done on both the field corn and soybean field. At each survey stop the number of damaged plants from insects was analyzed, as well as the density of weeds and what type, and any noticeable diseases. Also noted were the plant stage, plant height, soil conditions and weather. Some analysis like row width, plant count and plants per acre were done several weeks ago and were not performed today.
The field corn is in the pre-tassel stage, and is about seven to eight feet tall. Soil conditions were moist. The weather was sunny. Of the random non-BT corn plants selected, over 60% are showing corn borer damage. This can be a major issue later in the season because the corn borer can severely weaken the corn plant, and blow over from high winds before the October harvest. In some areas weeds were in high density like crabgrass and sedge, which can rob nutrition from the plant. These can emerge again next year, so a herbicide may be needed in the spring. No diseases in the cornfield were found.
The soybean field behind the field corn was the other crop scouted this morning. These were the soybeans not planted too deeply due to the earlier dry weather. They are starting to pick up with the recent rainfall, and although a little off-color, do not look spotty. Some leafhoppers and grasshoppers were noted on the soybeans, but not material. Weeds were not noticeable. The soybeans are about in the second trifoliate stage.
In the demonstration plots the millet and broomcorn will both need some fertilizer. The pumpkin plants are showing damage from the cucumber beetle, grasshoppers and moths, but are still growing. The blueberries are beginning to ripen and by next week could be peak season. Both the Bell peppers and hot peppers are growing well at this early stage. Yesterday, the June bearing strawberry plants were cut back and old straw was replaced with new straw to mitigate gray mold disease in the future.
Below is the weekly summary for the insects caught in the four insect traps.
Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – Black Cut Worm – 3, ground beetle –2 .
Trap 2 (European Corn Borer) – 1 each European Corn Borer, click beetle, spider.
Trap 3 (Fall Army Worm) – 3 each ladybug and chafer beetle, 1 each true armyworm and soldier beetle.
Trap 4 (Corn Ear Worm) – 1 each chafer beetle and noctuid.
Notes compiled by John Siemanowski
