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Black cutworms already being spotted in fields

[/title][fusion_text]Wednesday, April 27th 2016

A nighttime vandal is sneaking through Midwestern fields. Black cutworms — nocturnal corn cutting pests — are already being spotted in fields this spring. Growers are being urged to scout carefully; particularly those who opted to plant conventional corn this year. Cutworm moths have been winging their way into the Midwest since late March and worm damage will soon follow, entomologists warn. In Illinois, corn cutting could begin as early as May 13 for growers in central counties, according to Kelly Estes, the agricultural pest survey coordinator for the Illinois Natural History Survey. Farther north, University of Minnesota entomologist Bruce Potter expects damage to surface in the state’s southwestern cornfields by the third week of May. Black cutworm moths may have been flying north earlier than agronomists were setting traps, so damage could come even earlier than expected. Cutworm damage predictions are made possible by the cutworm’s predictable seasonal migration, which starts along the Gulf Coast in February and ends in the northern Midwest in April and May. Female moths lay their eggs in crop residue or weedy and grassy fields. Cutworm damage starts small. Often a “shot-hole” pattern is detected on leaves of seedlings, formed by young larvae munching through in a straight line. As they grow, they become capable of “cutting” young corn plants off above and below ground, resulting in wilted or dead plants. Because this cutting action is so damaging, most Midwestern scouting guides recommend that growers scout for cutworm immediately after corn emergence and continue through the 4- to 5-leaf stage, when corn is capable of withstanding more damage. Proper cutworm scouting often involves a backache and a flashlight. Like little vampires, cutworms emerge and do their feeding after sunset throughout the night and bury themselves in the soil and debris during the day.

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