Author Archives: Sean Malone

Invitation to the Virginia Soybean Field Day – Aug. 14, 2013

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You are invited to attend the 2013 Virginia Soybean Field Day at the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research & Extension Center (EVAREC) in Warsaw on Wednesday August 14. Registration begins at 2:30 pm with field tours following at 3:00 pm. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm courtesy of the Virginia Soybean Board and The Virginia Soybean Association. The address of the EVAREC is 2229 Menokin Road, Warsaw, VA 22572. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center main office at 804-333-3485 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) prior to the event. Field day topics are shown below. We look forward to seeing you there.

Low Phytate Soybeans for a Healthier Chesapeake Bay (Dr. Bo Zhang, Virginia Tech Soybean Breeder); Elite STS Soybeans – Low Input, High Profit (Dr. Zhang);
Superior Conventional Soybeans for Better Yields (Dr. Zhang); Distribution and Management of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and Kudzu Bug (Dr. Ames Herbert, Virginia Tech Entomologist); Maximizing Double-Crop Yields Through Inputs (Dr. David Holshouser, Virginia Tech Soybean Agronomist); Optimizing Early Season Growth & Yield (Mr. Kevin Dillon, Graduate Research Assistant and United Soybean Board Fellow); Does Variety Affect Yield Response to Fungicides? (Mr. Dillon); Predicting Yield Increases with Fungicides (Dr. Pat Phipps, Virginia Tech Plant Pathologist); Small Grains 2013 Comments (Dr. Wade Thomason, Virginia Tech Small Grains Agronomist); Looking Ahead to Fall Planting (Mr. Keith Balderson, Essex County Extension Agent); Greetings from the Virginia Soybean Association (Mr. Logan Vaughan, President, VSA); CSES Department Update (Dr. Tom Thompson, CSES Department Head); Greetings from CALS (Dr. Jody Jellison, Assoc. Director, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station).

Black light trap captures for week ending August 8, 2013

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Please click “More” to view the tables with the average number of corn earworm moths and brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) captured per night in local black light traps. Mark Kraemer in Petersburg reported approximately 3 to 4 BMSB per foot on some maturity group 4 vegetable-type soybean with pods present (Guelph and Kanrich), but BMSB were not on surrounding maturity group 5 soybean in the flowering stage. Dr. Kraemer also reported seeing BMSB on Asian long beans again this year. Mike Arrington found corn earworm (=bollworm) egg-threshold levels in cotton research plots at the Tidewater AREC (Suffolk) and at an on-farm cotton research trial in Southampton County this week. Thanks to our black light trap operators for their reports this week: David Moore, Kelvin Wells, Laura Maxey, Mary Beahm, Chris Drake, Watson Lawrence, Mark Kraemer, Janet Spencer, Ames Herbert and his entomology crew, Scott Reiter, Keith Balderson, Helene Doughty, and Jim Jenrette. Additional information: blt-8-aug-2013-pdf

Black light trap captures of corn earworm moths and BMSB for week ending Aug. 1, 2013

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The average nightly captures of corn earworm moths and brown marmorated stink bugs in area black light traps are attached (please click “More”). Counts for both pests were pretty low this week. Thanks to trap operators Scott Reiter, Laura Maxey, Keith Balderson, Mary Beahm, Ames Herbert and his entomology team, Mark Kraemer, Mike Parrish, Kelvin Wells, Helene Doughty, Jim Jenrette, and Chris Drake for their reports this week. Additional information: cew-bmsb-1-aug-2013-pdf

Results of the 2013 corn earworm survey of field corn

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Attached (click “More”) are the results of Dr. Herbert’s 2013 corn earworm survey of field corn in Virginia. In general, numbers of ears infested with earworm larvae were lower than in previous years. Hopefully this means fewer moths that emerge, leave this nursery crop, and lay eggs in soybean, cotton, peanut, etc. Our network of black light traps will help you determine moth flight activity in your area. It is also vital to scout your crops and use appropriate thresholds for eggs or larvae. For soybean, please use the Corn Earworm Economic Threshold Calculator found at http://webipm.ento.vt.edu/cew/ For cotton you should use the appropriate thresholds (conventional or genetically-protected) found in the 2013 Virginia Cooperative Extension Field Crops Pest Management Guide (beginning on page 4-108 found at http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-016/Section_4_Insects-11.pdf). Other insect chapters (soybean, peanut, sorghum, etc.) of the Field Crops Pest Management Guide, with appropriate thresholds, can be found at http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-016/456-016.html Additional information: cew-survey-results-2013-pdf

Virginia distribution maps of kudzu bug and brown marmorated stink bug–Aug. 1, 2013

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Attached (click “More”) are the Virginia distribution maps for kudzu bug and brown marmorated stink bug as of Aug. 1, 2013. We will continue to provide updates throughout the season. Thanks to our scouts Ed Seymore, Jamie Hogue, and staff at the Tidewater AREC for their hard work and reports. Additional assistance from Virginia Cooperative Extension ANR Agents, Virginia Tech faculty and staff, Wayne Gardner (Univ. of Georgia), and others is greatly appreciated. Additional information: kb-bmsb-map-pdf

Black light trap counts for the week ending July 25, 2013

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Please see the attached document containing this week’s average nightly captures of corn earworm moths and brown marmorated stink bugs in area black light traps. Thanks to trap operators Mary Beahm, Keith Balderson, Mike Parrish, Laura Maxey, Chris Drake, David Moore, Ames Herbert and crew, Mark Kraemer, Kelvin Wells, Helene Doughty, Jim Jenrette, and Scott Reiter for the information they provided this week. Additional information: blt-cew-bmsb-7-25-pdf

Invitation to the 2013 Pre-Harvest Field Crops Tour (Sep. 12, 2013)

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The Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center will hold its 2013 Pre-Harvest Field Crops Tour during the morning of Thursday, September 12, 2013. Please see the pdf attachment for additional details (click “More”), and note that pre-registration is required (please see the attachment for pre-registration instructions). Also on the attachment are details concerning Dr. Phipps’’ disease tour, and Dr. Balota’’s sorghum tour. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event. Additional information: 2013-tarec-tour-flyer-pdf

Black light trap counts for week ending July 18, 2013

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Nightly averages for corn earworm moths captured in area black light traps for this week ranged from zero to 7.7; brown marmorated stink bugs ranged from zero to 13.5 per night. Please click “More” for the summary tables for these two pests. Thanks to our trap operators John Allison, Watson Lawrence, Mark Kraemer, Scott Reiter, Ames Herbert and crew, Helene Doughty, and Jim Jenrette for their reports this week. Additional information: 18-jul-cew-bmsb-pdf

CEW/BMSB black light trap counts for week ending July 11, 2013

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This week’s corn earworm and brown marmorated stink bug black light trap counts are included in the attached table (a pdf document; please click the More button). Thanks to trap operators John Allison, Watson Lawrence, Mary Beahm, Mark Kraemer, Scott Reiter, Helene Doughty, Jim Jenrette, and Ames Herbert and the Tidewater AREC entomology crew for their reports this week. Additional information: cew-bmsb-7-11-13-pdf