July Blog!

Hello everyone! It’s been a very busy growing season and a hot summer. Some areas of the state have received too much water while others not enough. When weather extremes occur insect extremes occur as well. Over the next couple of months I will try to keep you informed so you can advise your clients. See the latest bulletins below.

Sincerely,

Rick Morris

Harvey’s Agronomist

Be Prepared to Spray Bollworm in Bt Cotton this Year- Change in Recommendation

— Written By Dominic Reisig

As noted in this complementary article, bollworm populations have been heavy this year in corn and they are breaking through a lot of Bt corn.  What that means for cotton growers is that they need to be prepared to spray overtop of some Bt cotton this year, especially Phytogen (WideStrike) varieties. Timing and spray chemistry is critical to maximizing yield.  The recommendation below only applies to North Carolina during 2016 and is the result of conversations with previous NCSU entomologists Jack Bacheler, John Van Duyn, and JR Bradley, as well as Midsouth university Extension entomologists.

Our usual threshold for Bt cotton is based on larval sampling from fruiting tissues (see NC Cotton Insect Scouting Guide).  Entomologists from the Midsouth recognized that certain Bt cotton varieties could benefit from an overspray of an insecticide with the active ingredient chlorantraniliprole (Prevathon).  Some benefits this insecticide provides are a long residual, the ability to move to growing tissues, and specificity for caterpillars, including bollworm.  They also found more benefit to spraying WideStrike cotton, compared to Bollgard II, TwinLink, or WideStrike 3.  They also found that chlorantraniliprole only provided this benefit when 1) bollworm was present in large numbers and 2) when it was sprayed before larvae were present, in contrast to the NC threshold recommending sprays based on larval presence.

In North Carolina during 2013, we sprayed WideStrike cotton (PHY 499) with a high rate of Prevathon (27 oz) at bollworm threshold in replicated fields and compared them to replicated unsprayed fields.  Populations continued to exceed threshold in untreated plots and bollworm injury was higher in unsprayed compared to sprayed plots.  Yields were different by only one lb.  During 2014, we repeated the experiment, but sprayed when bollworm had laid eggs and before larvae had hatched.  Even though populations and injury were similar between 2013 and 2014, yield was higher by 90 lbs. in the sprayed plots.

Bollworm egg on leaf

Recommendation for 2016:

If you have WideStrike cotton (generally Phytogen varieties besides PHY 495), begin scouting cotton terminals, leaves, and fruiting structures for bollworm eggs starting mid-July.  Eggs are small and take a sharp eye to spot.  Unfortunately bollworm and tobacco budworm (100% controlled by all Bt cotton) eggs are difficult to tell apart.  However, bollworm has been much more abundant than tobacco budworm this year so to play it safe, assume it’s a bollworm egg.  Eggs can be laid on any plant part, but whole plant samples can be challenging.  Therefore, an alternative would be to see there are 25 eggs on 100 terminals, stems, or fruit (squares/blooms/bloom tags/bolls); if stink bugs or plant bugsare not an issue, apply Prevathon.  If there are 25 eggs on 100 terminals, stems, or fruit (squares/blooms/bloom tags/bolls), and if stink bugs or plant bugs arean issue, apply Besiege (note that this will kill more beneficials compared to Prevathon).  Do not use this strategy if eggs have hatched and live larvae are present- use the threshold below.

If you have Bollgard II, PHY 495, TwinLink, or WideStrike 3 cotton, only apply insecticide when thresholds are reached (three 2nd stage bollworm (or larger) in 100 fruiting tissues on one scouting trip, two 2nd stage bollworm (or larger) in 100 fruiting tissues on two consecutive scouting trips, or one 2nd stage bollworm (or larger) in 100 fruiting tissues on three consecutive scouting trips).  You could use any of the insecticides noted for bollworm control in the 2016 NC Ag Chem Manual (page 80).  Also note that areas where plant bugs are being sprayed may catch some relief from bollworms, as some insecticides targeted for these insects will pick up some bollworms.

Sugarcane Aphid Now Present in NC- 2016

— Written By Dominic Reisig

Last year, we first found sugarcane aphid during the end of July at treatable levels.  Today it was found on sorghum in Stanly County.  Very likely it is in counties south of here at low levels and will again spread throughout our state.

Identification and insecticide information on this pest can be found here.  I would steer clear of Lorsban and spray only Sivanto and Transform.  Start scouting field edges, bottoms of plants, and bottoms of leaves.  Treatment thresholds are below:

Use at least 4 oz of Sivanto or 1.5 oz of Transform.  A maximum of 3 oz of Transform can be used per year.