Black Cutworm Early Season Threat to Corn
Corn farmers should pay attention to the spring migration of the black cutworm. The moths wing their way into the Midwest every year. The black cutworm rides the southerlies north into the Corn Belt. The female moths look for farm fields lush and green mostly with weeds. Winter annuals are the favored nesting ground says University of Illinois Extension Entomologist Mike Gray. Quote Summary - They go into those fields and lay eggs. They lay eggs on those weeds. Eventually, once the fields are planted with corn, many of the surviving black cutworm larvae will move off the weed hosts onto corn seedlings. Corn fields in the one-to-four-leaf stage are very susceptible to cutting. If those cuts are made below the growing point of the corn plant, then it dies. Most of the cutting, says Mike Gray, takes place over night or occasionally on a very overcast dark cloudy day. Quote Summary - Growers are encouraged to look for early signs of black cutworm activity. This would be small pin hole are…