Statewide Crop Insect Monitoring to Begin

Statewide Crop Insect Monitoring to Begin
Each year, the Extension Service places traps across the state to monitor insects pests that can damage Missouri Crops. Insect pests are a major factor that can lead to injury to the state’s crops and impact the state’s economy.
Many of the insects can migrate from southern United States such as Black Cutworm which cuts corn plant off at the soil surface and under dry conditions below the ground which kills the plants. Sticky traps which have a surface that once the insect lands on the trap, it becomes stuck are placed across the state to monitor this insect. The trap also has a pheromone which attracts the insect to the trap.
Research indicates that Black Cutworm moth flights need to reach a particular threshold for an outbreak to occur. Also, by knowing the size of the cutworm moth flight, our models can reasonably predict when growers should be in the field to look for this particular insect. The model also uses heat units or growing degree days to estimate how fast the insect will be at the stage it will injure corn.
Other insects may overwinter locally. They over-winter as a pupae or other stage and can emerge to attack crops. Insects are impacted by a variety of factors which can cause an insect population to explode and also crash. Monitoring is important along with scouting.
Regional Extension Agronomists conduct trapping of insect pests. The results of trapping are reported and found on the web at http://ppp.missouri.edu/pestmonitoring.
Also, there are reports on True Armyworm, Japanese Beetle, European Corn Borer, Southwest Corn Borer, Western Bean Cutworm, Corn Earworm, Tobacco Budworm, Fall Armyworm, Beet Armyworm and Soybean Looper. One can go to this site and subscribe to pest monitoring alerts. Once there, you can select which insect you would like alerts from.
For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-446-3724 and Heather Benedict at 660-425-6434, Regional Agronomists, University of Missouri Extension.