Fall Pests, Boo!
There are a few pests that like to show up around the time kids are deciding how they'll dress up for Halloween. We've been seeing these little buggers in various perennial grass seed fields over the past couple of weeks.
Billbugs are a common pest in Kentucky Bluegrass stands. This pest tends to build up a population that can go fairly unnoticed for a few years. Without a proactive prevention program billbugs can decimate a crop when the population density reaches critical mass. Drought will often reveal affected areas in the field that simply don't have the root structure to survive the stress. Irrigation certainly helps but it can often mask the problem in the absence of rigorous scouting. We've come across a few places this fall where high populations made the damage, likely done last spring, easy to spot. Although these insects are typically very difficult to find, we were able to collect a handful of adult billbugs crawling on the surface.
Glassy Cutworms are a less common pest but they have a broader appetite for grasses, infesting both of our common grass seed species here; Kentucky Blugrass and the fine fescues. These ugly things can do a lot of damage in the crown of the plant eating roots and new tillers and reducing the plant's ability to recover after harvest. Next year's yield depends heavily on our grass stands loading up this fall in order to survive the winter and take off when spring arrives. Glassy cutworms are not helping. They tend to spend their time just below the surface where they are protected from predators and have an ample food supply. This makes them difficult to kill as well so planning and quick action are keys to success.
If you haven't already heard from your CPS Fieldman please let us know if you notice any weak or yellowing areas in your perennial grass stands. We'd love to come crawl around out there to see if we can find the source of your problem and help you build a program to protect your crop and your wallet.
Teamwork - that's what we're after.
We're better together.
Billbugs are a common pest in Kentucky Bluegrass stands. This pest tends to build up a population that can go fairly unnoticed for a few years. Without a proactive prevention program billbugs can decimate a crop when the population density reaches critical mass. Drought will often reveal affected areas in the field that simply don't have the root structure to survive the stress. Irrigation certainly helps but it can often mask the problem in the absence of rigorous scouting. We've come across a few places this fall where high populations made the damage, likely done last spring, easy to spot. Although these insects are typically very difficult to find, we were able to collect a handful of adult billbugs crawling on the surface.
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| Hunting Billbug adult |
Glassy Cutworms are a less common pest but they have a broader appetite for grasses, infesting both of our common grass seed species here; Kentucky Blugrass and the fine fescues. These ugly things can do a lot of damage in the crown of the plant eating roots and new tillers and reducing the plant's ability to recover after harvest. Next year's yield depends heavily on our grass stands loading up this fall in order to survive the winter and take off when spring arrives. Glassy cutworms are not helping. They tend to spend their time just below the surface where they are protected from predators and have an ample food supply. This makes them difficult to kill as well so planning and quick action are keys to success.
 |
| Glassy Cutworm Larva |
If you haven't already heard from your CPS Fieldman please let us know if you notice any weak or yellowing areas in your perennial grass stands. We'd love to come crawl around out there to see if we can find the source of your problem and help you build a program to protect your crop and your wallet.
Teamwork - that's what we're after.
We're better together.
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