026-Lancaster Fanning Saturday, June 1,1985
NEW YORK - Will European
corn borers strike corn fields this
year? According to Bill Pagano,
product manager for Stauffer
Chemical Company, springtime
weather wilj be the key in deter
mining the answer. Weather
conditions in late May and early
June play a very important role in
borer infestations, he says.
Corn borers caused heavy
damage in much of the Corn Belt
last year, Pagano notes, and large
overwintering populations mean
there’s good potential for more of
the same this season.
But by watching the weather,
scouting fields throughout June
and into July, and treating with an
insecticide if necessary, com
producers can prevent this
destructive insect from chewing
into profits, he adds.
Losses from the corn borer come
in many forms. Poor ear
development, broken stalks and
dropped ears all add up to a
reduction in yield. Yield losses can
be extremely high during severe
infestations, especially if damage
begins just before the tassel
emerges.
University research has shown
that each com borer established in
the stalk can take from five to 10
percent of the yield potential.
Some University studies in the
Midwest showed that untreated
acres suffered losses of up to $4O an
acre.*
To prevent such yield reduc
tions, start watching weather now,
when borers are beginning to
mate. Mild weather will warm
nights is the perfect situation for a
large infestation to occur. On the
other hand, beating rams can
destroy the moths. Or if it’s too
cool at mght, the moths won’t fly to
lay their eggs.
Besides weather, early planting
dates can affect the size of a
European com borer population.
Fields planted early provide
favorable conditions for egg-laying
moths and can result in heavy
infestations.
No matter when you plant, don’t
depend on planting-time treat
ments for corn borer control,
Pagano notes. Despite some
manufacturers’ claims, these
treatments will provide only slight
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Lancaster, PA
Dealing with European corn borers
suppression ot tirst-broad borers
“Other factors involved in the
size of a borer population include
winter weather and type of tillage
involved in corn production,”
Pagano points out. “A mild winter,
like last year’s, and the fact that
more people are turning toward
conservation tillage, indicate
potential for sizable com borer
problems occuring in 1985.”
European com borers over
winter as larvae in com stalks,
cobs and plant debris on the soil
surface. Therefore, more com
borers may survive in the un
plowed stalks of a conservation
tillage system than in stalks that
are plowed under.
The size of a borer population
can also be affected by the
previous year’s outbreak. “When
an infestation is high like the one
last year, a large overwintering
population may result,” Pagano
says. “And with this comes the
possibility of a heavy infestation
the following season. ’ ’
Scouting in June and July is
another important step for
preventing corn borer damage.
For first brood European com
borers, several observations
should be made after the moths
begin to fly.
Eggs are laid in masses of 15 to
30 on the undersides of leaves.
Early feeding appears as “shot
holes” in leaves as they grow out of
the whorl. Midribs of leaves may
break as a result of tunneling.
When 50 percent of plants show
feeding, treatment is recom
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mended, Pagano says.
“An over-the-top application
with a granula herbicide, is worth
approximately five bushels of com
per acre, including application,”
Pagano reports. “But bushels lost
due to the corn borer can easily
NEWARK, DE Farmers who
grow vegetables on plastic with
drip irrigation should not only
irrigate the crop, but also maintain
adequate moisture conditions
under the plastic, says University
of Delaware extension vegetable
specialist Ed Kee. Once the san
dier soils of Delmarva become dry,
it’s very difficult to reestablish and
maintain soil moisture.
With most cucurbit crops, the
better the vegetative growth, the
better the yield potential because
there are more opportunities for
flowers, and the increased leaf
area supports a larger crop, the
specialist says.
So it pays to irrigate during dry
periods while plants are still in the
juvenile stage. Irrigation also
improves the survival rates of
transplants.
For most crops the need for
water is most critical during
flowering, fruit or pod set, and
fruit or pod enlargement.
However, says Kee, many crops
show yield responses to earlier
irrigation.
He recommends growers use
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exceed that amount in most corn
producing states.”
However, Pagano says, it is
important to treat com before
borers invade the stalk. ‘‘lf you
treat too late, then you won’t see
the economic return from it,” he
tensiometers set at depths of 8 and
18 inches to aid in making
irrigation decisions. A tensiometer
measures soil moisture tension,
indicating the percentage of
moisture that is available to the
crop. Research on a wide range of
vegetables has shown that there is
a positive response when soil
moisture is not allowed to become
depleted by more than 50 percent
before irrigating.
“Growers must weigh the costs
involved in turning on a system
NEWARK, DE - Gram farmers
who would like to learn more about
how to use agricultural options as a
marketing tool can obtain useful
information from a new extension
fact sheet, “Selecting and Using
Agricultural Options," published
by the Delaware Cooperative
Extension Service.
The three-page fact sheet con
tains a brief description of
agricultural options, tells how to
determine when it will pay to use
Eby stock trailers are 25-35% lighter than
comparable steel trailers. Less weight
means better fuel mileage or increased pay
load.
Eby trailers are built tough. Quality com-,
ponents and 6061 alloy aluminum provide
the ruggedness required in a livestock
trailer.
says,
Granular insecticides work best
because they collect in the whorls
of com plants, where corn borer
larvae enter the stalk. Because
sprays don’t collect in the whorls,
they have a shorter time period of
effectiveness.
and operating it, versus the
potential for yield increase at any
particular point in the season,”
Kee says. “Sometimes it may not
be as critical to irrigate. But it’s a
mistake to wait too long.
“Of all the factors which can
adversely affect vegetable yields
on Delmarva, water-or lack of it
is the most important,” he con
cludes. “Keeping on top of and
ahead of soil moistrue conditions
can pay off by the season’s end.”
Options trading
one, and discusses the pros and
cons of buying put options and
selling gram on the futures
market. There is also a glossary of
economic terms growers need to
understand when trading
agricultural options.
To obtain a copy of this fact
sheet, contact extension crops
marketing specialist Carl German,
Townsend Hall, University of
Delaware, Newark, DE 19717-1303
(302-451-2511).