Pest surveys during the 2022 season offer some insight into what pest pressure may look like in the following growing season. Krista Hamilton is the entomologist for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. She also leads the statewide pest surveys.
She tells us the results of this year’s survey for corn rootworm and bean cutworm — the state’s top two pests.
Corn rootworm beetle pressure persists. Based on the high adult corn rootworm pressure observed in August, southern and western Wisconsin corn producers have been advised to closely review their rootworm management plans for 2023 and consider crop rotation if practical. Growers opting for a rootworm trait package for root protection are reminded that planting continuous corn with the same trait should be avoided.
Western bean cutworm set a new record. Moth counts in 2022 were the highest recorded in 18 years of surveys. The annual trapping program from June-August registered an average of 133 moths per trap, up from a record of 117 moths per trap set in 2021. The highest individual cumulative count for the 10-week monitoring period was 437 moths in a Columbia County trap. This season’s relatively large flight produced heavy larval infestations in scattered corn fields in the west-central and central counties in August and September.
Meanwhile, the European corn borer and corn earworm populations have decreased.
Survey work was conducted from April through October and spanned across 62 of the state’s 72 counties. In addition to assessing the state’s most damaging crop pests, field specialists also surveyed for several invasive priority pests that are currently not known to occur in Wisconsin, such as the soybean gall midge.
Hamilton has her eye on soybean gall midge — a pest that has infiltrated Wisconsin’s neighbors to the West. The insect could be destructive for Wisconsin soybean growers.
In just the last five years, populations have been confirmed in 155 counties in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota, including 15 new counties this year. The larvae feed internally at the base of soybean stems and cause stem discoloration. Infested plants break near the ground and the orange or white maggots can be found inside.
See the entire 2022 pest survey: https://ipcm.wisc.edu/blog/2022/12/pest-survey-program-at-datcp-2022-summary/
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