Ames Herbert’s 2012 annual research summary book now available online

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Ames Herbert’s annual research summary book, “2012 Insect Pest Management in Virginia Cotton, Peanut, and Soybean,” is now available on the Virginia Cooperative Extension website: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/AREC/AREC-37/AREC-37.html (the publication number is AREC-37NP). It is a 3MB pdf file. Thanks to all those who supported our entomological research program in 2012.

Prevathon is now approved by EPA for use on soybean

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Dupont has received EPA approval to add soybeans and oilseed crops (including sunflowers and canola) to the Prevathon® label. Pending state registrations we expect to have Prevathon® available for the soybean, sunflower and canola crops for the 2013 growing season. Prevathon is the active ingredient chlorantaniliprol and has excellent activity against lep pests including corn earworm, armyworm species and others.

Deadline bullets on EPA chopping block (read Dr. Tookers article below)

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Metaldehyde (Deadline products) labeled use in corn and soybeans in jeopardy
One of the reasons that slugs are such a challenge in no-till field crops is the lack of commercially available pest management tools. Among the few viable options for slug control are metaldehyde-based baits, the best well known of which are the Deadline products (e.g., Deadline Bullets and Deadline Mini-Pellets), but others are available.
The active ingredient metaldehyde is produced by a European company called Lonza and needs periodic re-registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The latest re-registration is underway, and we recently learned that Lonza has decided to let corn and soybeans drop from the label. The IR-4 Project (which facilitates registration of pest management tools; http://ir4.rutgers.edu/) has submitted a petition to EPA to establish tolerances on these and other commodities (which would allow their continued registration on the metaldehyde label), but in the near future it could be that growers would not be allowed to use metaldehyde-based products to protect their corn and soybean fields for perhaps a year or two until the EPA publishes a final rule on the proposed tolerances.

Since learning of this problem, various organizations including IR4, AMVAC (the producer of Deadline products), and University-based and NRCS personnel have mobilized to try to maintain uninterrupted use of metaldehyde in corn and soybeans. Our efforts are directed toward the EPA, where the final decision lies. It is promising that such a range of voices have emerged in support of maintaining the current uses of metaldehyde, but it would be valuable for EPA to hear from growers and grower groups. If you have the energy to send them a note, please contact me by email or phone (814-865-7082) and I can help you make this happen.

Contact Information
John Tooker

New webcast on thrips as pests and vectors of TSWV on tomatoes

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The Plant Management Network (PMN) has launched a new presentation in its Focus on Tomato webcast resource. This webcast is titled “Thrips as Pests and Vectors of Tospoviruses in Tomato” by George Kennedy, Professor of Agriculture and Entomology Department Head at North Carolina State University.

Below my signature, you will find more details about this webcast and the Focus on Tomato resource. Please let your students, growers, consultants, and any other practitioners who may be interested know through email, ListServe, blog, enewsletter, or any other extension-focused communications that you see fit..

Feel free to reply or call 651-994-3859 if there is any more information I can provide.

Kind Regards,
Phil Bogdan
Plant Management Network

New Thrips Webcast Featured in Focus on Tomato

As the primary vector for Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), thrips are an important pest to keep at bay.

This latest Focus on Tomato presentation, produced by The Plant Management Network will help consultants, growers, and other practitioners in the southern and western U.S. manage thrips and suppress virus incidence.

This talk, authored by Dr. George Kennedy, Professor of Agriculture and Entomology Department Head at North Carolina State University, covers&

– The biology of thrips and factors affecting their abundance
– Some background information on TSWV
– The roles of the tobacco thrips and western flower thrips in spread of TSWV
– The use of insecticides, reflective plastic mulch, Actigard, and TSWV resistant cultivars in the management of thrips

This presentation is open access through December 31, 2012 and can be viewed at http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/tomato/ThripsTomato/.

Users can view other recent webcasts in the Focus on Tomato resource at http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/fot.

Focus on Tomato is a publication of the Plant Management Network (PMN), a nonprofit online publisher whose mission is to enhance the health, management, and production of agricultural and horticultural crops. It achieves this mission through applied, science-based resources. PMN is jointly managed by the American Society of Agronomy, American Phytopathological Society, and Crop Science Society of America.

To take advantage of PMN’s full line of resources, please sign up for its free online newsletter at:
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/update/default.cfm.

Corn earworm AVT results, BMSB and Kudzu bug update….nearing the end

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Our final batch of corn earworm moths showed only 26% survivorship, down from last week. This season results showed a 37% survival rate for the seasonal total which exceeds all previous years. We are now up to 33 counties where brown marmorated stink bugs were/are present in soybean fields. Most are at pretty low levels compared with last year, but they are much more widespread. This week n some have been found in soybean fields in north central North Carolina. We are taking as much data as we can to help with answers for next season. And, the first kudzu bug nymphs were found in Charlotte County. We are nearing the end of this season in terms of insect pests and advisories…a long summer for sure.
Additional information: cew-cypermethrin-2011-2012-sept-13-2012-pptx

Brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) are infesting a lot of soybean fields and not ‘playing by the rules’

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With our full complement of field scouts in place, more soybean fields are being found with BMSB infestations. We are up to 20 counties in Virginia (hit the ‘more’ button to see the map) spread over a very large area of the state. Infestations were a little slow to develop compared with last year but we are predicting that by the end of the season, many more fields will be infested compared with last year. So far, most infestations are at low to moderate levels (from 2-3 to 4-6 per 15 sweeps) but a few are in the high infestation range 8-10 or more/15 sweeps. We know that sweep netting is not the ideal way to sample for these insects, but there is no other method other than simply easing into the field edge and counting what you see. Basically, if you can stand in one spot, do a 360 degree turn and count more than 5 or 6, that area needs protection. So, how are they not ‘playing by the rules’? Last season, our first with treatable levels, bugs stayed on field edges and a single insecticide edge treatment provided season long control. This is true for many fields this year but in a few we are finding them deeper into fields, and, there are some cases where re-infestations are occurring in fields previously treated. The good news is that 1) based on our insecticide trials it is not difficult to kill them with several common products, and 2) many fields, especially the full season crop fields, are rapidly approaching the ‘safe stage’ which based on previous field cage studies happens after R6 (full seed) when pod walls begin to toughen. Many growers are treating field edges this year and we are going to follow as many as possible to determine if those treatments worked and held. More on this as we progress.
Additional information: herbert-bmsb-kb-va-aug-30-2012-pptx