Insect Pest Update For Sep. 15, 2016

Sep 16, 2016

By Sean Malone

Soybean–brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB): Our scouts detected BMSB in two new counties this week–Charles City and Stafford. Eight counties were at threshold (3-5 per 2-minute visual count along the field edge)–these are listed at the bottom of the map.

Soybean–kudzu bug: A range of zero to 5 kudzu bugs per 15 sweeps was reported this week. While no counties were at threshold levels (15 kudzu bugs per 15 sweeps), the highest numbers were reported in Campbell (5), Appomattox (4), and Amelia (3 per 15 sweeps).

Sorghum–white sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari: No new counties reported for this pest this week. So far this season, it has been confirmed in the following Virginia counties: Amelia, Bedford, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Franklin, Greensville, Hanover, Isle of Wight, New Kent, Nottoway, Prince George, Southampton, Suffolk, Surry, and Sussex.

Corn earworm/bollworm resistance monitoring: Survival of moths in the vial tests remains high. We evaluated 297 moths this week, with 40.5% survival to the 5 microgram/vial rate of cypermethrin. Our seasonal average stands at 42.8% survival (n = 1,552 moths evaluated).

Black light trap report: Some reporting stations had a small bump upwards in the number of corn earworm moths captured (Warsaw, Prince George, Essex); declines occurred in Suffolk and Southampton. Very few BMSB were caught. Please refer to the tables for more information. BLT_15_Sep_2016

Source: vt.edu

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.