Note:  Cucurbit downy mildew has now been identified on cucumber in southern and northern NJ.  See the pumpkin and winter squash section below for more information.

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) adults remain very low, and no map will appear in this edition.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 8/12/20 are as follows:

Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations continue, although at low to moderate levels around the state, with infestations as high as 26% in Cape May County.   FAW could increase dramatically in the late summer, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn.  Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at far left).  This injury leads down into the whorl.  As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at near left).  FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult.  Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.

Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures are increasing gradually in blacklight traps.  This moderate mid-Summer population poses a significant risk to silking corn.  Catches remain somewhat variable (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.  Note that there is disagreement between blacklight and pheromone trap maps with regard to the southwestern counties.  See pheromone trap information below.

The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 8/12/20 are as follows:

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Note: Due to the disruption caused by tropical storm Isaias, IPM technicians were unable to reach a number of blacklight and pheromone traps in the southern counties.  Maps in this edition are representations of data from contributing traps.

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) adults remain very low, with only a few traps in the southern counties catching individuals consistently.  Numbers are low and isolated such that no map will appear in this edition.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 8/05/20 are as follows:

Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations are persisting at generally low levels around the state.   FAW could increase dramatically in the late summer, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn.  Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at far left).  This injury leads down into the whorl.  As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at near left).  FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult.  Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.

Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures have remained steady in blacklight traps this past week.  This moderate mid-Summer population poses a significant risk to silking corn.  Blacklight catches were highest overall along the Atlantic coast (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.

The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 8/05/20 are as follows:

[Read more…]

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) adults continue to be very low, although a few traps in Cape May and Burlington counties have shown initial signs of a second flight.  Numbers are low and isolated such that no map will appear in this edition.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/29/20 are as follows:

Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations are generally low, but IPM technicians report more frequent occurrences in the central counties.   This is the time of the summer when FAW can show up, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn.  Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at far left).  This injury leads down into the whorl.  As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at near left).  FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult.  Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.

Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures have remained largely unchanged in blacklight traps this past week.  This moderate mid-Summer population poses a significant risk to silking corn.  Blacklight catches were highest overall along the Atlantic coast (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.

The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 7/29/20 are as follows:

[Read more…]

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) adults continue to be very low, and no map will appear in this edition.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/22/20 are as follows:

Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations are light and widely scattered.   This is the time of the summer when FAW can show up, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn.  Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at left).  This injury leads down into the whorl.  As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at right).  FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult.  Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.

Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures increased in blacklight traps this past week.   Although the increased numbers do not represent a large influx, they do pose an elevated risk to silking corn.  Blacklight catches were highest overall along the Delaware Bay (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.

The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 7/22/20 are as follows:

[Read more…]