Here are the updated scouting numbers from this week:
The good news is: we DID see at least some small level of mortality from the freezing temperatures this week as the picture below shows. In some fields, there may have been as 5% of these.
The bad news is there are STILL plenty of small larvae still hatching out there. Most of the larvae are very early instars meaning the hatch is probably not over just yet… So, while we got rid of a few this last week, and feeding certainly slowed, there are still numbers to come we need to be on the lookout for. Most fields have yet to reach treatment threshold save for those in the very southern part of the District.
As we reach the 50% threshold often used for treatment, I wanted to reference the KSU Alfalfa Insect Management Guide: https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/mf809.pdf . It does a nice job of providing active ingredients, rates, etc… As referenced last week, efficacy trials can be found in the lower RH corner of the page at: https://www.meadowlark.k-state.edu/crops-soils/index.html .
