MARCH 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


35


New pests game-changers for BC forage producers Corn rootworm and armyworm control a key challenge for growers


by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – The last year saw


forage production in southern BC change forever.


The arrival of both corn rootworm and true armyworm had devastating consequences for local corn and pasture lands. “They call corn rootworm the billion- dollar bug because of the damage it does and the cost to control it,” BC Ministry of Agriculture entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser told dairy and field vegetable producers at the Pacific Agriculture Show, January 25. “For every ring of roots with larval damage, estimate a 15% yield loss.” There are three corn rootworm species in North America but only Western corn rootworm has been found in BC. It was first detected on Sumas Prairie in August 2016 but emerged as a pest to reckon with in 2017.


Sticky traps were placed throughout the Fraser


Valley from late July to mid-September last year to monitor for the pests. Adult beetles were found in all traps, increasing as the season progressed. “Numbers were highest in Sumas, Matsqui, Chilliwack and Agassiz, and lowest in Delta,” Hueppelsheuser reported. She calls the bug a “double whammy” as both


larvae and adults feed on corn. The larvae limit themselves to the roots while adults feed on the plants. Adult beetles will also attack squash, radishes and dahlias.


Both Hueppelsheuser and Maizex Seeds


urged growers to do their own monitoring, saying the action threshold should be one beetle for every five plants. However, that’s too late to save the


current crop. “Once you see the corn rootworm, the damage is already done. You then have to plan for next year,” she says.


Deadly soldiers FILE PHOTO


agronomy lead Greg Stewart say the best defence is to practice crop rotation and plant BT corn. “Only plant corn in the same field for two to three


years in a row so it breaks the one-year life cycle,” Hueppelsheuser says Stewart encourages growers to “use multiple traits instead of single CRW-trait hybrids.” Hueppelsheuser and Stewart also advocate using


Force or Poncho as seed treatments. To minimize pest pressure and maximize yields,


Stewart advises growers to plant early and ensure uniform planting and emergence, saying, “where you lose yield in silage is in late emergence.” Agriculture ministry staff will continue to monitor for corn rootworm this year but Hueppelsheuser


Armyworms earned their name because they move in troops like an army. While true armyworm has been known in BC for over a century, last year marked its first major outbreak. “Outbreaks generally occur only one in 10 to 25 years,” Hueppelsheuser says. The severity of the outbreak depends on the size of the source population, wind direction and conditions when the moths arrive. “You need all three to be right to get an infestation.” Those conditions were just right all


along the West Coast last year. “In addition to southern BC, there were major


outbreaks in the grass-growing area of Oregon and the rice fields of northern California,” she notes. Agronomy professor Jeremy McNeil of Ontario’s


Western University calls armyworm a “migrant” pest, noting it needs to overwinter in warmer climates because it can’t survive freezing. It also experiences high larvae mortality at temperatures above 29°C so climate change may actually help control the pest. The sporadic nature of armyworm outbreaks means that 2018 may not repeat 2017’s devastation. Nevertheless, Hueppelsheuser promised an area- wide monitoring program this year.


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