As we hit mid-season, things are relatively quiet in area grain crops. The three intense storms that passed through recently brought both blessings and challenges, but one very positive aspect is that they decimated the large fall armyworm flight that was underway. Daily trap counts dropped from 100 or so per night to almost zero immediately after the storms. Intense rain and high winds likely knocked a lot of moths to the ground where mortality factors could act, and they also washed most of the egg masses off of plants. This week's fall armyworm graph is presented below. However, for those who do not get his newsletter, Tyler Mays, IPM Agent in Gaines, Terry and Yoakum counties, last week reported fall armyworm trap captures in excess of 500 and 600.
Sugarcane aphid is still hard to find in area sorghum, and once again relatively early planting seems to have paid dividends. Most early planted fields are now in bloom, and if the aphid comes it will be relatively late in the development of the crop. Dr. Katelyn Kesheimer, IPM Agent in Lubbock and Crosby counties, has been scouting sorghum intensely since the fields dried up enough to permit it. She reported that the only sugarcane aphids found to date are in low numbers in the same forage sorghum field near Lubbock where they were found several weeks ago. There are a few yellow sugarcane aphids and greenbugs.
Spider mites are present in area corn and should be scouted. Thus far I have not heard of any treatable populations, but mite numbers often increase dramatically as corn enters the reproductive stage.
The one source of worry is that the rains also decimated the populations of beneficial insects, and this means that if sugarcane aphids, greenbugs, yellow sugarcane aphids, spider mites or caterpillar pests begin to build up there is almost nothing left to stop them. Population increases in all of our pests could occur very rapidly.
