2020 New York Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network (SCPTN) Project Leader
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2020 New York Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network (SCPTN) Project Leader Marion Zuefle, New York State Integrated Pest Management Program This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA- NIFA project 2017-70006-27142. Cooperators Anne Bloomfield, Hudson Valley Farm Hub; Brian Boerman and Jessica Dueppengiesser, ACS; Derek Johnson, Unadilla; Chad Kirby, Brockport; David and Sarah Krist, Portville; George Krul, Oswego; Jeff Kubecka, Kirkville; Ashley and Matt Merle, Attica; David Munsee, Panama; Bruce Reed, Geneva; Allie Strub, Williamson; Don Sweet, Crop Advantage; Linda Underwood, Preble; Jen Wilcox, independent consultant; Mike Hunter, CCE Jefferson Co.; Kitty O’Neil, CCE Franklin Co.; Abby Seaman, NYS IPM; Elizabeth Buck, John Gibbons, Christy Hoepting, Cornell Vegetable Program; Chuck Bornt, Andy Galimberti, Ethan Grunberg, Natasha Field, Elisabeth Hodgdon, Laura McDermott, Teresa Rusinek, and Crystal Stewart, Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program Abstract In 1993 the Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network (SCPTN) began monitoring the flight of European corn borer (ECB) E and Z race moths. In 1997 corn earworm and fall armyworm were added and in 2010 Western bean cutworm. In 2020 we also started trapping for the hybrid ECB at six locations. All these insect pests can cause damage to sweet corn ears in their larval stage. These pests are moths in their adult stage and can be monitored using traps baited with pheromone lures specific for each species. Traps are placed near sweet corn fields to monitor moth flights. The weekly trap catch information allows growers, consultants, Cooperative Extension and vegetable processor field staff to track the flights and make informed decisions about when sweet corn fields need to be scouted or treated with an insecticide. This project was funded in part by in-kind contributions from growers and consultants who host and check traps. Background and Justification Sweet corn for the fresh and processing markets is an important crop throughout NY. In 2020 sweet corn was planted on 27,000 acres in New York with a value of 37 million dollars (USDA Vegetable 2020 Summary). Four major pests of sweet corn, European corn borer (ECB-E and ECB-Z), corn earworm (CEW), fall armyworm (FAW) and Western bean cutworm (WBC) can be monitored in their adult stage using pheromone traps. Pest management is an especially important aspect of fresh market sweet corn production because the unhusked ear is marketed, and buyers are frequently very sensitive to insect damage or the presence of larvae in the ear. Harvest quality requirements are different for processing corn, which usually receives fewer insecticide applications than fresh market corn. Integrated pest management practices are widely used on both crops to determine the need for insecticide applications. Pheromone trap catches provide valuable information to growers, consultants, and processor field staff making pest management decisions. Pheromone trap catches help growers and consultants decide when to start scouting fields for egg masses and larvae, reinforce what scouts are finding, help growers choose the best spray materials for the pest complex that’s present, and alert the industry to the arrival of the migratory pests, CEW and FAW. Pheromone Trap catches from 22 sites in western NY and 14 sites in Eastern NY (Figure 1) were an integral part of the weekly pest update newsletter, VegEdge and Veg Update. VegEdge is sent by the Cornell Vegetable Program to subscribers in 14 counties and Veg Update is sent by the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program (ENYCHP) to subscribers in 17 counties. The Trap catches were also posted weekly to the sweet corn pheromone trap network blog, linked through the NYS IPM Program website, the Network for Environment and Weather Applications website, and posted to regional websites (PestWatch and Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network) that include trap catches from several northeastern states and Canada, making the information available to a large number of growers and extension personnel. Figure 1. Map showing the 22 trap locations in western NY (pink) and the 14 trap locations in eastern NY (blue). Objectives 1. Establish and maintain a network of pheromone traps for sweet corn pests in NY. 2. Add ECB hybrid traps to six locations to monitor for this potential new pest. 3. Provide regional trapping information and recommendations to extension field staff and consultants working with sweet corn growers. 4. Provide regional trapping information to growers, along with scouting and threshold recommendations. Procedures 1. Sets of one each of ECB-E, ECB-Z, CEW, FAW, and WBC traps were placed at each of 36 trapping locations, 22 sites in western NY and 14 sites in eastern NY (Figure 1). Scentry Heliothis net traps were used to trap ECB and CEW. The BCS/Agrisense Unitrap was used for FAW and WBC. Lures from Trece Inc. were used for both races of ECB. Lures from Scentry Inc. were used for CEW, FAW and WBC. All lures were replaced every two weeks. 2. ECB, CEW, and FAW traps were set up in late-May at fresh market locations, and as processing fields approached tassel emergence in other locations. WBC traps were set up in early to mid-June. 3. Traps were placed at least 40 meters apart in grassy areas near sweet corn fields, avoiding areas near hedgerows where air circulation is poor. Heliothis traps were mounted on posts such that the bottom of the trap is ~6" above the grassy canopy. Unitraps were hung from short stakes to which angle brackets had been attached and were placed either in the field or at the edge of the field. Whenever possible, traps were moved to new fields as the previous fields matured (silks became dry) and became less attractive to moths. 4. Six ECB hybrid traps were set-up and monitored following procedures for ECB-E and X and Z traps. These traps were located at: Bellona, Farm Hub, Farmington, Geneva, Penn Yan, and the Seneca Castle sites. 5. Cooperators checked traps weekly on Monday or Tuesday and sent trap catch numbers to Marion Zuefle via phone or email. Weekly catches for each location were collated and posted, along with interpretation and scouting and thresholds recommendations for fresh market sweet corn, on the sweetcorn.nysipm.cornell.edu blog. 6. Information posted on the blog was used directly by subscribing growers, incorporated into crop and pest updates distributed weekly by regional extension programs, or provided to growers via direct contact with collaborating consultants. All catches were also posted to the PestWatch and Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network sites. Results and Discussion The overall trend for the flights of the five moth species is represented in Figure 2, which gives the average trap catch for all 36 sites. ECB-E and ECB-Z remained fairly low throughout the season, this is similar to what we experienced in 2019 (Figure 3) and 2018. Peak flight for both ECB-E and ECB-Z averaged below 5 moths per week. There were two minor peaks for ECB-E, one the week of May 26th and again the week of June 9th. ECB-Z remained low throughout the season. After receiving several reports of ECB damage in sweet corn but with low nearby trap catches, we decided to have the pheromone lures tested for potency. The lures were tested by Denis Willett, chemical ecologist at Cornell University, who found the lures to be of good quality and with the appropriate amount of compounds present. Since the lures were not the issue, we selected 6 sites (Farmington, Penn Yan, Bellona, Geneva, Seneca Castle and Hurley) to install and monitor hybrid ECB traps. All six locations caught hybrid ECB but at relatively low numbers with the highest cumulative catch at the Geneva site with 31 total moths caught over the 18-week trapping period. Even with this potential new hybrid, ECB moths continue to decline overall when looking at the 26-year trend (Figure 4), with the biggest drop seen after 2006. This decline has been attributed in part to the increase use of Bt field corn. In 2020 we had the third highest CEW flight since 1997 (Figure 5). Two years ago, in 2018, I also reported the third highest CEW flight, which at that time was 10 CEW on average per location per week. The average CEW per location per week went up to 12 moths in 2020. However, the peak flight occurred about a week later in 2020 and did not seem to cause as much concern among growers as in 2018. Fall armyworm trap CatChes in 2020 were about the same as in 2019 with an average of just above 7 moths per location per week for both years (Figure 5). The difference between the two years was that there was a seCond peak observed in 2019 (Figure 3) whiCh was not present in 2020 (Figure 2). In 2010 we began monitoring the flight of Western bean Cutworm in NY. Flight usually begins in late July and lasts through the end of August. In 2020 WBC peaked August 4th with an average trap CatCh of 42 moths (Figure 2). This was over a week earlier than in 2019 (Figure 3). Pest pressure varies greatly among years but also within a year depending on the site location. This Can be seen in the Cumulative trap CatCh for eaCh moth speCies at the 36 different sites (Table 1). For this reason, it is important to Continue monitoring the flights throughout NY with traps plaCed in representative areas of the state. Figure 2. Average number of moths caught per week for all 36 sites in 2020. Figure 3. Average number of moths caught per week for all 38 sites in 2019.