Insects
Emerging pest pressures can create problems for farmers every year. And as certain pest pressures build, Farm Journal Associate Agronomist Missy Bauer says the issues are often geography based.
As Arkansas farmers work to battle an outbreak of fall armyworms, entomologists say the pest is proving to be devastating in later planted crops. And as farmers see increased pest pressure, the costs are adding up.
Contributing factors include continuous corn, late-maturing hybrids, delayed and/or replanted fields, weedy fields and borders, and soybeans with significant volunteer corn.
With farmers across several states enduring drought conditions, it’s prime time for spider mites to make their move.
Recent dry weather increases risk of spider mite infestations.
With drought causing spring wheat to shrivel, the heat next week will be lethal for that portion of the crop barely hanging on. Now, grasshoppers are preying on battered fields, possibly shrinking the crop to zero.
Scouting fields for pest problems is a vital component of crop health and yield outcome.
As drought plagued the West and Plains in 2021, grasshoppers took over many pastures and crops, which demolished grasses and hayfields. In the South and Midwest, fall armyworms were a costly battle for farmers.
Last year showed how dry conditions create the perfect playground for a few yield-robbing pests. The conditions could be ripe again for drought-loving pests to emerge.