Today I found newly hatched beet armyworms on two adjacent farms in Hyde county. The soybeans on both farms are at the first trifoliate stage. For me, this is a little early. Worms were found in sparsely planted areas. Adjacent beans, that were bigger, had very little sign of worms or leaf etching.
Newly hatched beet armyworms;leaf etching
Treatment will be withheld for the moment. According to Dr. Bacheler, defoliation was in the 5-10% range on damaged plants. Some leaves had over 20% damage but did not represent the field. I’ll be rechecking these beans Friday. Some treatment options would be Intrepid, Belt and Steward among others. Beets can consume a small amount of foliage and become large as compard to fall armyworms or even loopers that can take out large areas quicker (Thanks Dr. Bacheler and Dr. Reisig!) Beneficials can also play a role in control.
This particular farm has had an interesting year so far. We’ve already had an issue with yellow stripes and we think lesser cornstalk borer.
Early instar corn ear worms/eggs are showing up on some farms as well. This is in flowering beans. So far, levels are low. Clover worms and loopers haven’t built to treatable levels with the exception of what we found two weeks ago.
Corn ear worm egg on soybean
