Increased Insect Pressure Causes Decreased Yield             

                                                                                                                            CL#58, July 2013

 Our wet spring and early summer weather conditions have a greater impact on insect pest pressure than winter conditions, since cool wet weather is bad for crops but good for insects.

 Prevent yield loss from insect pests

Remember some insecticides may reduce beneficial insect populations and cause secondary problems like a flare-up of spider mites. So when using insecticides, always follow the label directions and ‘ADD HOOK at 1-2 quarts per 100 gallons LAST’ in your spray tank for optimum insect control.

• Pre-harvest intervals may limit the choice of insecticide(s).
• Proximity to residential areas, bee yards and organic farming may limit insecticide choices.
• Take advantage of daily scouting reports using pest development markers to improve spray decisions for insect control.
• Wet weather and insect pressure can also cause insects to transmit viruses and funguses that also cause yield loss if not corrected.
• As crops progress through their key growth stages, your insect pests that can be a problem:

Corn (Use HOOK with Mic-Ro-Pac to give the spray solution more effectiveness)

• Late planted corn is more vulnerable to insect pests.
• From knee high to tassel keep an eye out for:
  • Armyworm
  • European corn borer and
  • Corn rootworm larvae
  • Japanese beetle (certain areas)
  • Spider mites
  • Caterpillars that feed on corn ears.
  • Corn earworms (Dependent on spring wind patterns).
• A reminder: Risk of potential yield loss is greatest during pollination and final kernel formation stages.

 Soybeans (Use HOOK with Mic-Ro-Pac in the solution on beans for more effectiveness)

• Soybean seeds can take a lot of tissue damage and still yield a good crop. Scout beans for vulnerable insect pests.
• Identify insects that are soybean pests.
• Perhaps only border or perimeter areas need spraying?
• Typical soybean pests include
  • Soybean aphids
  • Bean leaf beetle (can transmit podviruses).
  • Spider mites
  • Dectes stem borer (becoming more prevalent).
  • Late season stink bug (becoming common in all areas).

Cotton (Use HOOK with Mic-Ro-Pac in the solution on cotton for more effectiveness)

• Cotton insect scouting and counting are key to clean productive cotton plants.
• Key insects that attack cotton are:
  • Thrips
  • Bollworms
  • European corn borer
  • Stinkbugs
  • Armyworms
  • Kudzu bugs

HOOK is designed to work with all insecticides by keeping the chemical on the surface longer so the insecticide can do its job. Always follow the pesticide label instructions.

HOOK at 1-2 quarts per 100 gallons “is” the only “Complete” Adjuvant to Assist Insecticides to Maximize their Activity because……………

• HOOK is a wetting agent that works with insecticide sprays by breaking the surface tension of water & helping the water transfer from fungicide particle;
• HOOK in the insecticide spray solution causes the surface tension to be reduced in such a way that it easily spreads into a very thin film over the plant surface; AND……
• HOOK is a sticker which causes the insecticide spray solution to adhere to the leaf surface, resisting rain, evaporation and runoff; AND……
• HOOK works as an activator in the insecticide spray solution to dissolve or penetrate waxy layers on leaves and allow the insecticide to interface with plant cells “free space” where insects traverse; AND……
• HOOK in the insecticide spray solution has unique abilities to penetrate the plants canopy for better control of the drift and the deposition of the spray solution in, around and under the plant surfaces.

As described above, Plain and Simple…….HOOK does the job it was designed for.  HOOK assists in the insecticide spray solution in controlling insects allowing the plant to maintain its health, ultimately giving a better yielding crop.     

GIVE HOOK A TRY THIS SEASON…YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.

A little blatant advertising here…… After spraying with Hook…“We ‘politely’ suggest you use Work-Horse to clean out that spray tank!!

Late Breaking “FACT’s” Section

There’s been a lot of talk about a big corn year, but until the latest USDA corn estimate, just ‘how big’ was a question on a lot of minds. Of most concern was the late start to planting thanks to a late spring. But since USDA’s June 28 report was released, we now know the total 2013 planted corn acres in the U.S. this year is up, a grand total of 97.4 million acres. That represents the largest corn acre-planting in over 75 years, the fifth time in as many years total acres have increased. How that will play out in the markets, of course, remains to be seen until harvest is complete and final yields are known. “Crop News Weekly”

Foliar fungicide applications can result in a significant yield advantage of up to 7 bushels per acre, according to DuPont Pioneer and University research trials. Particularly in corn on corn, no-till and strip till situations, along with later-maturing fields, the yield advantage can be substantial when a foliar fungicide is used.

Corn has started silking in every state. Sixteen percent of the overall crop has silks, well behind a five-year average of 35%. Last year at this time 67% of the corn crop was silking.    Corn crops in good/excellent condition lost a couple of points overall in the past week. As of yesterday the overall crop was in 66% good/excellent condition and 9% very poor/poor condition. Last year at this time just under one-third of the crop was in good/excellent condition, and one-third was in very poor/poor condition. Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee have the best corn conditions at 85%, 80% and 83% good/excellent condition, respectively.

With planting complete and all crops past emergence and beyond, no one is complaining much about the rain showers that have been falling across large areas of the Corn Belt. It’s easy to forget desperate drought conditions like last year, or even this year for our counterparts across the Southwest. But with the rain, of course, comes unwanted pressure from weeds and often times plant diseases, so growers remain on watch.

Farmers who spray fungicide on corn “just as a precaution,” don’t have to worry this year about Extension specialists applying a guilt trip to them. Plant pathologists from several Corn Belt universities are suggesting fungicide applications on corn and others are recommending it. But farmers who apply a fungicide are doing it because there is more of a threat this year than just doing it because it might boost the yield.

CL #58 INCREASED INSECT PRESSURE CAUSES DECREASED YIELD Plus Supplement Rev 062514 (PDF)

Vol. 7 #5