Corn earworm and fall armyworm adult trap captures are up significantly in the last week and this means headed sorghum should be scouted for headworms. It also means that late planted non-Bt corn should be scouted for fall armyworm. Corn earworm is not an economic problem in corn, but fall armyworm can do a lot of damage to ears if it infests them prior to hard dough stage. Prevathon and Belt are good choices for control of fall armyworm in corn and they will not flare spider mites (which are also being found readily in corn and sorghum). As headworm insecticides they will not flare sugarcane aphids in sorghum.
New Invasive Aphid Pest
Sipha maydis, which we are choosing to call the hedgehog aphid after Colorado State University's lead, was found in Lipscomb and Hockley counties on sorghum on the same day last week. Given the distance between discoveries it is likely that the aphid is widely distributed on the High Plains and we would appreciate reports of new discoveries.
The aphid is easy to recognize; it is shiny black with white spines.
Dr. Ed Bynum has written an excellent summary of what is known about S. maydis in his newsletter. This pest of small grains has the potential to be a serious threat to wheat and other crops.
