Agency warns of worm damage

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June 14, 2012

Agency warns of worm damage

Anonymous Staff Report The Daily Star Thu Jun 14, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County is alerting farmers to the presence of cutworms and armyworms in local fields. Farmers are advised to scout their corn and hay fields immediately for signs of damage from these pests.

CCE Resource Educator Paul Cerosaletti said the cutworm is so named because it nips off the plants close to the ground.

"Typically we see this damage in corn and other row crops," Cerosaletti said Thursday. "The top of the plant is tipped over right next to the stalk."

Cerosaletti noted, however, that if just the top of the plant is missing, or it lays at some distance away, that might indicate bird damage rather than cutworms.

Armyworms tend to attack grass and grass-like crops, Cerosaletti said, including corn and small grain such as oats or wheat.

"What you're looking for (is) a ragged feeding on the margins of the blades of the grass or the corn or the grain. They eat in from the edge of the leaf in. That's a very classic sign," Cerosaletti said.

The armyworm can devastate crops when they reach full maturity, but Cerosaletti said the armyworms spotted in Delaware County are still "fairly small." Early intervention is key to keep them at bay, he said.

"The best thing that anyone can do is be looking for this damage and try to assess," Cerosaletti said. "If you're seeing feeding on all the corn plants in a field, probably it's going to need to be treated. If you're seeing three to five larvae per square foot, usually that's over the threshold for treatment."

Cerosaletti added that both pests are commonly found in the region, but that this summer may see particularly high or dense concentrations because of the mild winter.

"We had been given a heads-up that they had been catching record numbers of the moths in the Midwest, and that's one of the reasons that we've been out looking early. That's the good news on this," Cerosaletti said.

For more information on how to scout and control these pests, farmers can call Cerosaletti at 287-7276 or Dale Dewing at 437-6878, or contact the local Extension office.