- Fall armyworm pheromone trap catches low throughout Indiana
- Although time remains for an outbreak, the odds are against it
- Most corn/soybeans are not vulnerable at this point in the season
Many of you will recall the fall armyworm outbreak of last year – for some producers it was their first experience with the destructive power of this pest and it was particularly evident in alfalfa, double cropped soybeans and even turf.
Fall armyworm feeding on blades of grass. (Photo Credit: John Obermeyer)
Fall armyworm feeding on corn eartip. (Photo Credit: John Obermeyer)
A year ago at this time, we had already sounded the alarm as we had reports of soybean and forage crops with heavy FAW feeding in Kentucky. There were some similar reports from Kentucky this year, but and we also have the benefit of some very helpful volunteer pheromone trappers throughout Indiana who have reported their weekly catches over the last month or so, and they are almost uniformly zero.
This doesn’t mean we are out of the woods quite yet, but every week that goes by lessens the likelihood of this sub-tropical species having a large effect on Indiana crops before the weather turns – both larvae and adults are not cold tolerant.
We will keep reporting what we hear, but so far there is not a lot to get excited or worried about. It is worth bearing in mind that the 2021 event was quite unprecedented and this insect cannot overwinter in Indiana. So there was little reason to expect a repeat, but worth the extra monitoring all the same.
For a blast from the recent past, here is a Lafayette news story about the 2021 outbreak:
