By: Drs. Tom Kuhar, Alejandro Del Pozo, and Sally Taylor (Dept. of Entomology, Virginia Tech)

Recently, some VCE agents as well as golf course superintendents in the northcentral and southwestern counties of Virginia have reported fall armyworm outbreaks (Fig. 1) on lawns and golf courses.  This outbreak is earlier than usual and potentially could lead to one of the heaviest pest problems that we’ve experienced from this pest in Virginia in recent years. Some lawns have completely been destroyed by these voracious feeders (Fig. 2 and 3).

Fig. 1. Fall armyworm larvae collected from a lawn in Richmond, VA. August 26, 2021. Photo courtesy of Jeff Sacks.

Fig. 2. Fall armyworm destroyed lawn in Henrico Co. August 26, 2021. Photo courtesy of Jeff Sacks.

Fig. 3. FAW damage to lawn in Richmond, VA. August 26, 2021. Photo courtesy of Tyler Green.

 It’s important to understand the biology of this polyphagus pest (Fig. 4).  Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a tropical moth native to warm climate areas of the western hemisphere.  It cannot successfully overwinter in Virginia.  However, fall armyworm moths (see Fig. 9) are strong fliers, and populations can show up throughout the eastern United States in the late summer and fall months, sometimes in very high populations like we saw most recently in 2018 in Virginia, and now in 2021.  Female FAW moths can lay up to 10 egg masses (each with 100 – 200 eggs) (see Fig 4).  So, huge densities of armyworms can build up from just a few egg laying moths in a field.  This can completely destroy lawns or new plantings of grain cover crops.    

Fall armyworm can feed on a number of different host plants, but prefers grasses, small grains, corn, and sorghum. 

Control

Insecticides recommended for control include most pyrethroids (such as bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, as active ingredients, and some commercial formulations such as Mustang Max, Baythroid XL, etc.), the carbamate (Lannate LV) and many of the more selective (lepidopteran-targeting) insecticides such as the diamide Prevathon, Coragen, Acelepryn, Besiege (as commercial formulations), indoxacarb products like Steward, Avaunt eVo, Provaunt, spinosad products such as Blackhawk, Tracer, Matchpoint, and additional insecticides such as Radiant, Intrepid Edge, as well others.  Consult the relevant Pest management Guide for specific recommendations on the various commodities.  Please note that control of large larvae is sometimes difficult with any insecticide.  Link to the VCE Pest Management Guides for Field Crops, Vegetables, and Turf are provided below.  On turf, we have gotten very good control of FAW larvae with pyrethroids, which are also one the cheaper insecticide options. 

Links to Pest Management Guides   https://resources.ext.vt.edu/

Turf:  

https://resources.ext.vt.edu/contentdetail?contentid=2377&contentname=2021%20Pest%20Management%20Guide%20-%20Home%20Grounds%20and%20Animals

Field Crops:      

https://resources.ext.vt.edu/contentdetail?contentid=2375&contentname=2021%20Pest%20Management%20Guide%20-%20Field%20Crops

Vegetables:  

https://resources.ext.vt.edu/contentdetail?contentid=2379&contentname=2020-2021%20Mid-Atlantic%20Commercial%20Vegetable%20Production%20Recommendations

Sources

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/fall_armyworm.htm

Luginbill P. 1928. The fall armyworm. USDA Tech. Bull. No. 34.

We at Virginia Tech are starting a pickleworm and melonworm monitoring program. This program involves information exchange between cucurbit growers and extension agents across the state that look for these pests’ damage to blossoms or fruit and report it back to me, Lorena Lopez, a vegetable entomologist at the Eastern Shore AREC. I will send out a weekly alert of the incidence of these pests in the state, based on this information chain and monitoring efforts in cucurbit crops located in Blackburg and the Eastern Shore AREC. The goal is to keep growers updated and help them manage these sporadic late-season pests.

A quick overview of these pests:

Both pickleworms and melonworms feed on wild and cultivated cucurbit species. Pickleworm adults are not active during the day, only at night when females lay their eggs close to flowers or flower buds. The larvae burrow into the fruit where it feeds and develops. Larva color varies from light green to translucent with multiple dark spots and varies in size from 0.05 to 0.6 inches long. Melonworm adults are usually found during the day on the plants but they can be active during day and night. Females lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves. Larva feeds mostly on leaves and can cause damage by skeletonizing them. However, melonworm larvae can also feed on the fruit and on some occasions can borrow into the fruit like pickleworms. Melonworm larvae are usually light green with two white lines in the back and have a similar size to the pickleworm larvae. Adults of both pests are very hard to differentiate.

Early this week we found melonworms in our yellow summer squash at the Eastern Shore AREC. Yellow summer squash is one of the preferred hosts of these pests. All melonworm larvae were found feeding inside the fruit which is uncommon for this pest. We haven’t found any pickleworms yet.

The help and communication network between extension agents, cucurbit growers, and entomologists like myself is vital for the monitoring program. Thus, if you find borrowing damage in the cucurbit flowers or fruit in your respective farm or gardens, please contact me at lorelopezq257@vt.edu

Stay tuned for next week’s update!

Lorena Lopez, Ph.D., Department of Entomology, Eastern Shore AREC, Painter, VA

Corn earworm (=bollworm) moth catches increased this week in our black light traps. The average number of moths caught per night was: Greensville = 7; Hanover = 11; Prince George-Templeton = 6; Prince George-Disputanta = 3; Suffolk = 22. Here is the Table. Thanks to our trap operators Sara Rutherford, Laura Maxey-Nay, Scott Reiter, Josh Holland, and Sally Taylor’s entomology crew.

In our adult vial tests this week (July 29-August 3), 43% of moths survived the 24-hour exposure to cypermethrin (a pyrethroid insecticide) at 5 micrograms per vial (n = 169 moths tested). The season average is 25% survival (446 moths tested).

Recent rains and cooler temperatures have maxed out out the risk for leaf spot and Sclerotinia blight of peanuts. In fungicide trials at the Tidewater AREC in Suffolk, VA I counted 9 hits of Sclerotinia blight in 70 row-ft in one untreated plot. Late leaf spot was evident at low levels in the lower canopy as well. Hopefully 2 preventive sprays have been made for leaf spot, but many growers may not have made an application for Sclerotinia blight at this time.

I know my above comments sound like doom and gloom, but growers typically have less disease pressure than we do at our experiment station as they use longer crop rotations. Most of our plots are on a 2-3 year rotation where most growers in Virginia rotate land to peanuts every 4 or more years. Crop rotation remains our best tool to reduce risk of disease losses in peanuts in the Commonwealth.

Peanut leaf spot can occur in all peanut fields, but soilborne diseases such as stem rot and Sclerotinia blight are problems in less than half of production fields, which is a good thing. Most growers know which fields they have problems with these diseases which allows them to treat them differently than most fields. With Sclerotinia blight risk high and already observed, growers need to make preventive fungicide applications of fungicides specific to this disease. if an application of Miravis/Elatus has been made in the last 10-14 days you should be good for another 10-14 days depending on weather conditions. If you haven’t applied a fungicide that effectively controls Sclerotinia blight, I recommend Omega 500 at 1 – 1.5 pts tank-mixed with a leaf spot fungicide in fields with histories of the disease. I also advise growers to scout these fields to determine if disease is present and to assess the effectiveness of fungicides already applied. The best place to look for Sclerotinia blight is in the largest, deepest vines in the field and in low areas that tend to hold moisture longer. The disease may cause leaves to wilt on individual stems (flagging) and tan, necrotic tissue that has white, fully fungal growth can be observed on these stems near the stem base beneath the canopy. See picture of typical Sclerotinia blight on peanut stems in the image below.

You may see flagging from Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) but no lesions on stems or fungal growth is present. I have had to take a closer look at several plants that had flagging leaves only to find that it was TSWV causing symptoms.

Typically a follow-up spray for Sclerotinia blight is warranted 21 days after the initial application of Omega 500. If you are using the 2-spray program of Miravis/Elatus there is no need to make an application of Omega 500 unless you are more than 30 days prior to harvest and disease pressure and weather conditions pose a high risk of severe damage.

If you have questions related to peanut disease management please feel free to contact me.

David Langston – e-mail dblangston@vt.edu, cell (757) 870-8498, office (757)807-3536