–by Dr. Jeff Whitworth
Much sorghum has been treated throughout north central Kansas for headworms (corn earworms and/or fall army worms) and most treatments seem to have been very effective. Again, Sorghum is most vulnerable to headworms from flowering to soft dough, so past the soft dough stage headworm treatment will not be necessary. The headworm shown (see pic1) has approximately 7-10 more days of feeding before pupating. Still no reports of sugarcane aphid problems – but monitoring should continue because in 2016 insecticide applications were still justified into late September.
Pic2: These two larvae were collected from a Heligen treated field. The dead (smaller) larva is obviously pathogen-affected. If Heligen is responsible for the death of this larva, then it looks like the application was well timed to kill the larva before it caused much damage.
Photo by Cooper Wyckoff)