C4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 18, 1988 NEWARK, DE As field com reaches the whorl stage, fanners will be able to find European com borer. Southern com stalk borer, true armyworm and com carworm larvae feeding on the inner leaves of the plants. “Because each pest causes a par ticular type and amount of dam age, it’s important to identify the insect before making a control decision,” says Joanne Whalen, University of Delaware Extension pest management specialist The University of Delaware’s 1987 European com borer fall abundance survey indicates that the overwintering population is higher in New Castle and Kent counties when compared to last season, but slightly lower in Sus sex County. The higher popula-* tions could translate into higher first brood populations in the ear liest planted com. Whalen says moth activity increased during the last week of May, so growers should start look ing for com borer damage when com reaches 10 to 12 inches in height Peak moth activity should occur the first week of June and peak larval activity during the sec ond to third weeks in June. Since first generation com borers can cause yield losses of three percent per borer per plant early detection I ‘ USDA Announces WASHINGTON, DC Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Peter C. Myers recently announced a required 10 percent acreage reduc tion and other provi sions of the 1989 wheat program. Other provisions of the 1989 wheat program include: A price support loan and purchase rate of $2.06 per bushel, a 20 percent reduction from the basic loan and purchase rate of $2.57. Myers said the down ward adjustment was determined necessary to maintain U.S. wheat competitiveness in domestic and interna tional markets. This is the statutory minimum and seven percent below the 1988 loan and purchase rate of $2.21 per bushel. The established target price is $4.10 per bushel, the statutory minimum, and down three percent from the 1988 target price. A paid land diver sion will not be implemented. —No marketing loan or related program provisions will be implemented. Producers will be required to maintain in acreage conservation reserve an area equal to 11,11 percent of prog ram payment acreage. The secretary of agri culture reserves the right to initiate later cost reduction options as outlined in Section 1009 of the Food Security Act of 1985. These options may include reopening or changing a program contract entered into by producers if they vqlun- Watch For Insect Activity In Whorl-Stage Field of small larvae is needed to keep populations below the economic treatment level, the Extension spe cialist says. When checking for com borer whorl feeding, Whalen says to look for the characteristic “win dow box” or “shot-hole” injury on the inner leaves of the plants. “If you find damage only on fully opened leaves, live larvae may no longer be present. Base treatment decisions on a random sample of 20 consecutive plants in five loca tions throughout a field,” she says. If 50 percent of the plants are infested with live larvae, an insec ticide is recommended. The most effective control at present is a gra nular insecticide applied at the pre tassel stage of plant development. No treatments will be effective once larvae begin to bore into the stalks. During the past two years, Southern com stalk borer and com earwomn larvae have been found feeding in the whorls along with the com borer. Since treatment for the former two insects is rarely needed, the following larval descriptions can help identify these three whorl feeders: * European com borer larvae have a black head capsule with a white to tan body. * Southern com stalk borer lar- 1989 Wheat Program agree to the common to program crops will be announced r provisions at a later date. tarily ; change. Othe: New Holland Skid Loaders , Famous Ford Industrial Tractor Loader Backhoe 48-100 H.P. LANCASTER FORD TRACTOR. INC. -Man ft- Your Lancaster County Reliables 1655 Rohrerstown Rd., Lancaster, PA, Flory Mill Exit off Rt, (717) 569-7063 vae also have a black head capsule, but the body is yellow with rows of black spots. * Com earworm larvae have an amber head capsule, and the body color varies from light green to pink to yellow or dark brown. “If entire leaves are destroyed or if large ragged holes appear on the leaf margins, you should easily find true armyworm larvae feeding in the whorls,” says Whalen. “This insect can infest small plants but Penn State Field Day To Feature Discussions On Fungicides UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre) To determine when to apply fungicide, farmers must keep sev eral factors in mind. These include yield potential of the crop, growth stage of the crop when disease is observed, predicted disease severi ty and predicted weather. Using fungicides for foliar disease con trol in winter wheat will be one topic of discussion at Penn State’s Agronomy Field Day, June 22 at the Rock Springs Agricultural Research Center. The field day, which will include exhibits and tours, will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. What could be better? Ford New Holland equipment at the lowest possible interest rate-0% APR for 12 months Need longer terms 9 Other attractive finance plans available through Ford Credit Be sure to ask us about cash' deals Nonijbsia 2€*d c -muac < Oean a<e the same as cash regrowth usually occurs unless the growing point is killed.” Expect to find armyworm out breaks in field com if fields had heavy pre-plant weed growth, if no-till com is planted into a burned down small grain cover crop, or if com is planted near a wheat field infested with armyworms. Whalen says to start checking for armyworm activity during the early whorl stage and continue until late'whorl stage. Treat if 25 While fungicides don’t increase yield, they do protect the potential yield of the crop. This implies, Penn State researchers say, that a crop must have a high yield poten tial to economically justify apply ing fungicide. At the field day, researchers will be available to dis cuss the particulars of when fungi cides should be applied. Another topic of discussion at Agronomy Field Day will be how seeding rate and row spacing affect performance of wheat. “Seeding rate and distribution of plants have considerable influence on wheat yield,” says Penn State agronomist Marvin Risius. “Plant and seed characteristics differ among var ieties, and each variety may not respond in the same way to changes in management factors. % 0 and ■mb Famous Ford Mid-Size Muscle 32-85 H.P. What A TEAM Corn percent of the plants are damaged and larvae are less than I'A inches long. Larger larvae have almost finished feeding, so there’s no need to treat for them. Delaware residents who want further information on in-season pest activity should call the Dela ware Cooperative Extension Sys tem’s Crop Pest Hotline at 1-800-345-7544. Out-of-state resi dents can call 1-302-451-8851. For optimum yields, we need to broaden our management experi ence to include several wheat varieties.” Researchers have conducted management experiments with dif ferent varieties of wheat, planting at different row spacings in two Pensylvania localions-one in Centre County and one in Lancas ter County. The researchers will be on hand at Agronomy Field Day to discuss the results of these experiments. The Rock Springs Agricultural Research Center is located on Route 45, nine miles southwest of State College. Lunch will be avail able at the field day. For more information contact Penn State agronomist Lynn Hoffman at (814) 692-7955. Stocky Ford Diesels 13-38 H.P. 283 nr
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