Participating in the OSU Extension Open House last night was fun and rewarding (thanks, staff!!). I enjoy outreach events and inevitably learn something from interacting with the public.
Yesterday’s conversations led to today’s topic: “Problems with my PEAS”
In the span of two hours, three different citizens came to me wondering why their early-planted peas are being “attacked by an unidentified marauder” (direct quote).
All 3 inquiries were similar and there were some important clues present: leaves are being damaged from the edge inward (chewing mouthparts); not cut off at soil level (cutworm); nothing obvious when scouting at night.
WEEK 0: Spring has sprung and we need field sites. Broccoli plantings will be starting soon, cooperating growers are encouraged to contact me to reserve their spot. Cutworms and armyworms are likely going to be a problem this year.
Many have been spotted already, even on campus sidewalks (see below)! This species is especially fond of ryegrass and orchardgrass, and outbreaks have occurred in western Oregon.
So..why did the caterpillar cross the road? Because it overwinters as a partially mature larvae and peristaltic searching mobility increases when ambient temperatures exceed 10°C, of course!
**NOTE: this blog site will be used for extended story content, photos, etc. To access weekly pest reports and data (APR-SEPT), please subscribe to the email newsletter using the box at left**
In anticipation of this month’s release of Oregon’s Agricultural Progress research magazine, I wanted to put a brief post up to help orient OAP readers.
As you saw in the article, VegNet uses an email marketing platform to inform program subscribers about insect pesttrends throughout the Willamette Valley. Our readership includes vegetable growers, crop consultants, and home gardeners from across the country.
This program has been operational for 20+ years (!) and is truly a community resource.
The blog now has a ‘search by category‘ function located at left, if you are interested in a particular insect, or just want an easy way to browse through content. There is also an FAQ page. Or, you could go here to view all the reports from last year.
If this program interests you at all, please do join the mailing list to be included this season. Pest reports are delivered straight to your inbox, once a week, and only between April and October. The program is free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
WEEK 24 – Cabbage maggots are one of the most challenging pests for brassica growers. They tunnel through root tissue and increase the risk of exposure to plant pathogens Read this cabbage maggot page, which includes more info on biology and how to sample for them. Another late season pest is diamondback moth. Many sites are listed as "n/a" this week, because fields have been harvested and traps are being removed.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek24 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season.
WEEK 23 – Corn earworm flights have been consistently high, and scouting this week revealed late stage larvae, pupal exit holes, and newly-emerged adults that will lay eggs within 3-5 days. This diversity makes control difficult, and scouting is recommended. Spotted cucumber beetles do become active in the fall, but levels this year are about 500% higher than historical norms.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek23 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season.
Tis’ the Season! According to a pest model for this region, the summer generation of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) adults start appearing this week. This pest is very mobile, and will move into fall crops readily. I caught a glimpse of an egg mass in sweet corn today (photo below), and nymphs are expected to peak within the next few days.
BMSB model for Corvallis, OR. 2017; based off Nielsen et al 2008, and available at uspest.org
Bell pepper, sweet corn, and tomato are all considered desirable hosts. Symptoms include sunken kernels, whitening on fruits, and spongy tissue. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I decided to direct you to some GREAT resources (see list below) for BMSB ID and management in vegetables.
BMSB egg masses are usually laid on the underside of leaves in groups of 28 eggs – count em’ and see! 🙂 – Sweet corn, Corvallis OR, 8-Sept-2017 J. Green
FOR MORE INFO:
Wiman lab page – Oregon State University – Identification, monitoring efforts, and resource list
WEEK 21 – Armyworms continue to plague forage and small grain growers. OSU Extension has had dozens of calls about the issue, and we are working closely with them to identify solutions.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek21 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season.
WEEK 20 – Diamondbacks continue to hatch; corn earworm flight; beneficial insect tracking. Perhaps most importantly: we found 5 Large Yellow Underwing Moths (the adult phase of winter cutworm)in traps this week. More information is available here.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek20 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season. Thanks!
ANSWER: A lady beetle pupa, which is the life stage between larva and adult. Ladybug pupae affix themselves to a leaf surface to complete development. Do not try to control them – these are good guys!
(Original post)
All this talk about crop PEST insects should not go unaccompanied by at least a brief mention and applaud for those silent heroes, the BENEFICIALS!
Biological control by generalist predators can be quite effective at mitigating pest insect populations, depending on the circumstance.
Two of the most common predators that we see in vegetable crops are ladybird beetles (ladybugs) and lacewings. I decided to track activity of these two groups this year, just to see if any activity patterns would be evident.
Ladybugs and lacewings can be passively sampled with yellow sticky traps. Although, for a more detailed study, one would want to incorporate sweep net sampling, increase trap numbers per acre, etc.
The convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens) is a native species. They overwinter as adults, mate, and then lay eggs in the spring. A study from Corvallis using field-collected H. convergens found that 228 growing degree-days (above a threshold) are required for development from egg to adult, and that this heat-unit requirement is rather consistent throughout North American populations (Miller 1992 Env. Ent. 21).
These graphs show a clear pattern of increased ladybug activity (adults on sticky cards) beginning around late June-early July. Sure enough, the increase correlates with published heat-unit requirements, and is confirmed by a degree-day model and online phenology tool (uspest.org, check it out!)
Trap counts began to increase at 228 degree-days this year, which matches published heat unit requirements of H. convergens in literature from this region.
Cool! But what does all this mean? Well, it suggests that passive sampling is a good way to estimate ladybug phenology, and could provide us with comparative data on predator activity differences between years.
Perhaps more importantly: recognize that while it takes ~230GDD to detect ADULT ladybugs, the larvae are predacious too and have been busy in your fields and gardens all spring!!
WEEK 18 – Diamondback moths are exploding, and I try my hand at interactive maps!
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek18 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season. Thanks!
Looper activity is far above ‘normal’ this year, and more aligned with an outbreak we had in 2008.
We monitor for cabbage loopers because they are pests of brassica crops. Feeding can occur on a wide variety of vegetable hosts including: beet, celery, cucumber, lettuce, pea, pepper, snap bean, spinach. Not all hosts are suitable for complete development of the insect, but feeding is feeding, from a grower or gardener’s perspective.
