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Joshua L. Salley, Assistant Extension Agent (Ag & Natural Resources) DeSoto Parish Extension Office, 10117 Hwy 171 , Grand Cane, LA 71032 (318) 872-0533
It's the first of July and summer has made itself known! I hope you are staying cool the best that you can in this heat. There has been quite a bit of hay made in the past few weeks with the hot and dry weather conditions. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, we are not in a drought at the moment, but I suspect that will be changing soon if we don't receive some rain. Sabine, Natchitoches, and Red River are currently in a D0 (abnormally dry) intensity. I hope we can catch some rainfall soon and not duplicate last year. I've already heard of some producers around the state talking about having to feed hay early again. Keep an eye out for armyworms with these drier conditions. It's best to scout your fields early in the morning or later in the evenings. I have an article in this newsletter that discusses these pesky worms more in detail.
We are gearing up for our DeSoto Parish Cattleman's Association Beef Field Day which will be held Friday, July 7th out at The Branch Ranch. It looks to be a very educational morning with topics ranging from heifer selection to NRCS programming. There will also be a hands-on sprayer calibration demonstration and market update. I hope to see those of you who sent in your RSVP there Friday.
Our Jr. Livestock is growing and we need YOUR help! If you or your farming operation would like to make a financial donation to the DeSoto 4-H Jr. Livestock program, contact our office!
From drought and extreme heat to insect infestation, a farmer's problems never seem to cease. Fall armyworms can be a farmer's worse nightmare as they feed on pasture forage, corn, cotton, beans, and numerous other plant species. Dry hot summers typically create favorable conditions for armyworm infestations. Armyworms can wreak havoc on bermudagrass and bahia grass fields. Intense infestations have been known to eat through large bales of hay, destroying them so severely that they fall apart.
Armyworms may be spotted on foliage any time during the day; however, your best chances to observe these insects are early in the morning and late in the evening. With heavy infestations, droppings from the caterpillars may be spotted on the ground. They also tend to gather in the leaf litter.
Adult fall armyworms are 1.5 inches long. Fall Armyworms always have striped bodies, but they are not always the same color. Their background color ranges from light green to almost black in some cases. Fall armyworms can be identified by four black dots on the back of the tip of the abdomen. Larger caterpillars usually have a light-colored, upside-down Y-shape on the head and three white lines on top of the segment just behind the head.
Before any control measures are taken, producers should first scout their fields to determine the extent of their infestations. Scouting is a quick and easy process which consists of walking into your field from all four sides. Stop at different locations in the field and look closely for small caterpillars feeding on the grass and other foliage. If any are spotted, do your best and estimate the number of caterpillars per square foot in 8 different sites. Divide the total worm count by eight to find the average number of armyworms per square foot. Take samples in the interior of the field because armyworms tend to be the heaviest at field margins. A lot of times only the field margins are required to be treated. Thresholds for pastures and lawns vary with conditions but typically control measures should be taken when worm counts exceed three or more worms per square foot. Pay attention to the size of the pests, as this is important to the success level of treatment. Treatment should be considered while the worms are .5 to 1 inch in length. Once they have matured to over 1 inch long, much of the crop damage has already been done; therefore, chemical control will not likely provide economic return. (See table on .pdf for scientific data from 2021 Louisiana Insect Pest Management Guide.)
Download .pdf of this newsletter for full color graphics and charts.
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DeSoto Ag Update Newsletter_2023-7pdf / 4.91MB