Category Archives: General Comments

Black light trap counts for the week ending July 17, 2014

Low numbers of corn earworm in black light traps this week (July 11-17). Nightly averages were: Southampton=0.5; Petersburg=0.4; Prince George-Templeton=0.3; Prince George-Disputanta=zero; Warsaw=0.4; Isle of Wight=zero; Suffolk=zero. We had some high brown marmorated stink bug catches in Petersburg’s black light trap (average of 6.6 BMSB per night). Other locations had either zero BMSB (Southampton, Prince George, Isle of Wight, and Suffolk) or 0.1 BMSB per night (Warsaw). Thanks to the following for their report: Chris Drake (Southampton), Mark Kraemer (Petersburg), Scott Reiter (Prince George), Mary Beahm (Warsaw), Janet Spencer (Isle of Wight), and Ames Herbert and crew (Suffolk).

Black light trap counts for the week ending July 17, 2014

Low numbers of corn earworm in black light traps this week (July 11-17). Nightly averages were: Southampton=0.5; Petersburg=0.4; Prince George-Templeton=0.3; Prince George-Disputanta=zero; Warsaw=0.4; Isle of Wight=zero; Suffolk=zero. We had some high brown marmorated stink bug catches in Petersburg’s black light trap (average of 6.6 BMSB per night). Other locations had either zero BMSB (Southampton, Prince George, Isle of Wight, and Suffolk) or 0.1 BMSB per night (Warsaw). Thanks to the following for their report: Chris Drake (Southampton), Mark Kraemer (Petersburg), Scott Reiter (Prince George), Mary Beahm (Warsaw), Janet Spencer (Isle of Wight), and Ames Herbert and crew (Suffolk).

Black light trap report for July 10, 2014

Black light trap operators are reporting low numbers of corn earworm moths and some have low numbers of brown marmorated stink bugs. Nightly averages for corn earworm moths for the week of July 4-10 were: Petersburg-0.7; Warsaw-0.3; Suffolk-1.0; Prince George-Templeton-0.3; Prince George-Disputanta-0.0; Southampton-1.5. The nightly averages for BMSB were Petersburg-2.3; Warsaw-0.3; Suffolk-0.0; Prince George-Templeton-0.7; Prince George-Disputanta-0.0; Southampton-0.0. Thanks to Dr. Mark Kraemer (Petersburg), Mary Beahm (Warsaw), Dr. Ames Herbert and the entomology crew (Suffolk), Scott Reiter (Prince George), and Chris Drake (Southampton) for their reports this week.

Black light trap report for July 10, 2014

Black light trap operators are reporting low numbers of corn earworm moths and some have low numbers of brown marmorated stink bugs. Nightly averages for corn earworm moths for the week of July 4-10 were: Petersburg-0.7; Warsaw-0.3; Suffolk-1.0; Prince George-Templeton-0.3; Prince George-Disputanta-0.0; Southampton-1.5. The nightly averages for BMSB were Petersburg-2.3; Warsaw-0.3; Suffolk-0.0; Prince George-Templeton-0.7; Prince George-Disputanta-0.0; Southampton-0.0. Thanks to Dr. Mark Kraemer (Petersburg), Mary Beahm (Warsaw), Dr. Ames Herbert and the entomology crew (Suffolk), Scott Reiter (Prince George), and Chris Drake (Southampton) for their reports this week.

Cotton/Peanut Thrips update, May 29, 2014

Thrips pressure ramped up very quickly over the past Memorial Day weekend.

COTTON: In our cotton plots, we’re getting counts of over 100 immatures in some of our 5-plant seeding samples, and injury has reached extreme levels in untreated cotton. So, who cares about data from untreated cotton? I do. These data provide a ground-truth indicator of 1) how the thrips populations compare over the years, and 2) what amount of injury (symptoms) and damage (lint loss) they are capable of causing. We maintain untreated ‘controls’ in our tests for these reasons. Depending on the planting date, variety and soil conditions, the injury in this year’s untreated controls is now ranging from 2.5 of so (on our 0-5 scale) to 4.85 (many plants killed or severely injured). Earlier planted cotton has the most injury and we see more in fields with ‘heavier’ soils. Adult thrips are still present on the plants which tells us that the infestation cycle is not over. Based on past experience, I think the peak will occur next week. So if you have not treated for thrips, now would be a very good time to check fields and make the call. If you see any significant number of seedlings showing injury, especially if the new buds are injured, blackened and deformed, now is the time to treat.

Many treatments in our cotton plots are providing excellent protection. For the most part, seed treatments are not providing the same level of protection as liquid in-furrow treatments. If you are relying on seed treatments, there is a good chance your cotton could benefit from a foliar treatment. The higher rates of the liquid in-furrow treatments are holding well and may not need additional foliar treatments, depending on how fast plants grow to the 3-4 leaf thrips-safe stage.

PEANUTS: Thrips populations are slower to develop in peanuts but untreated plants are beginning to showing significant levels of injury (up to 3.0 on our 0-10 injury scale). There are a lot of adult thrips on peanut seedlings which tells us that the cycle is still in progress and things will get worse over the next couple of weeks, for sure. As in our cotton plots, the seed treatments are showing more injury compared with liquid in-furrow treatments and may need more protection. The decision is not as urgent in peanuts, compared with cotton, as peanuts seem to tolerate thrips injury better—but, there is a point when more protection is a benefit. It is has been hard to pin this down—but in general if I see more 25-30% of the leaves with injury (crinkled leaves) and, especially, if the new terminal leaves are brown and deformed, it is time to apply a foliar treatment.

EARLY SEASON FIELD TOUR—NEXT WEEK—JUNE 5
If you are interested in getting a look at our cotton and peanut thrips trials, or field presentations by our other Tidewater AREC faculty, take advantage of the opportunity to attend our annual Early Season Field Tour Thursday of next week June 5. Registration begins at 8:30am at our Hare Road Farm and we will conclude with a nice lunch. CCA recertification credits will be offered, as well as credits for Private Applicators, Commercial Applicators 1-A, 1-C and 10) and Registered Technicians. Email or call if you need more information (herbert@vt.edu; 757-657-6450).

Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC June 5 Tour Brochure and Other Information

Attached is a trifold brochure containing details about the “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” to be held at the Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC Hare Road Research Farm on the morning of Thursday, June 5, 2014. Registration begins at 8:30 am and the tour starts promptly at 9:00 am. We are offering recertification for Private, Commercial 1A, 1C, 10, and Registered Technician pesticide applicators, and also are offering Certified Crop Advisor CEU credits. Additional information: brochure-2014-pdf

Thrios infestation update

Thrips infestation update
A quick update. We began sampling cotton and peanut seedlings this week for thrips. We take cotton plants or peanut leaflets from field plots, rinse the adult and immature thrips into lab dishes, and count them under a scope.
We are at the beginning of the infestation and seeing just a few adults on plants—less than one adult per plant on cotton seedlings and less than one per leaflet in peanut. We see even fewer immatures, with one exception–in some cotton that was planted very early during the last week in April. Those plants have pretty high numbers of immatures—around 20 per plant. We are just beginning to see the visual symptoms of the feeding injury—not enough yet to do ratings.
In general the infestation is a little behind compared to most years due to the cooler spring/early summer temperatures, but I expect we will see more immatures next week and more injury. Even though the infestation seems a little delayed, I would stay with our recommended treatment schedule. If a foliar application is needed, I would still target the early first true leaf stage. Treating when seedlings are in that stage has almost always given us the best results—stay with the plan.
We will begin providing weekly updates on thrips and other insect pests as the season progresses—so stay tuned.

Reminder: June 5 Field Tour Invitation

This is a reminder that the Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center (TAREC) will hold an early-summer row crops tour during the morning of Thursday, June 5, 2014. The tour will be held at the TAREC Research Farm (1045 Hare Road, Suffolk, VA). On-site registration will begin at 8:30 am and the tour will begin promptly at 9:00 am. There is no pre-registration, and there are no fees associated with this event. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Berry Lewis with Bayer CropScience. Specialists will display field research in progress and will present information for the 2014 crop season. The speakers will include faculty from TAREC (Drs. Balota, Frame, Herbert, Holshouser, and Mehl) and their graduate students. Topics will include thrips management in cotton and peanut; peanut plant population and maturity research; disease management in row crops and wheat; potassium for full-season and double-crop soybean; and preplant and in-furrow application of fertilizers in cotton. Robert Christian of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will conclude the tour with a pesticide safety review. We have been approved to offer Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education credits, and Private Pesticide Applicator recertification credits. We are also applying to offer Commercial Pesticide Applicator/Registered Technician recertification credits. More information is available through local Virginia Cooperative Extension offices or by contacting the TAREC main office at 757-657-6450. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact TAREC at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Save the date–Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC’s “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” scheduled for June 5, 2014

Please mark your calendars for the Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s annual “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” on the morning of Thursday, June 5, 2014, with in-field presentations by Drs. Balota, Frame, Herbert, Holshouser, and Mehl. More details will be provided in the near future.