3 MIN READ

5 Reasons to Scout For Early Season Pests

July 26, 2022

1. You may need to replant.

There are no rescue treatments for wireworms or white grubs, so this is the time when you need to decide whether any damage is enough to warrant replanting. Being proactive can help you stay ahead of such an issue and adapt accordingly.

2. There is a short window for rescue treatments.

If you have a black cutworm problem, most damage occurs within seven days of plant emergence. Consequently, you’ll have that same time frame to react with a rescue treatment. Without scouting, you might miss this crucial period and suffer further black cutworm damage as a result.

3. Insect damage could lead to disease.

Crops with insect damage are more susceptible to diseases like Holcus leaf spot, Goss’s Wilt, bacterial stalk rot and corn smut later in the season, greatly increasing the chances that your yield will decrease. The earlier you can be aware of what insects might be threatening your crops, the better chance you have of prevention.

4. You may not need a rescue treatment.

Scouting can help you understand whether the insects in your field are beneficial or harmful. If harmful insects are not at or exceeding economic thresholds, then there is no need for additional control measures such as rescue treatments. In fact, if you delay applications until economic thresholds are reached, you may preserve beneficial insects that can help keep pest populations suppressed.

5. Understanding early pressure can help you plan the remainder of the season.

Crucial decisions are made in the early stages of the planting season. Every time you reach a conclusion about where you spend your money and time, you want to do so in a well-informed manner. Scouting can give you a picture of what challenges may lie ahead.

Prevention

One of the best ways to protect your emerging corn crop against problems caused by early season pests is to plant bt-traited corn like SmartStax® RIB Complete® corn blend. When combined with Acceleron® Seed Applied Solutions Offerings for Corn, it provides broad spectrum above and below ground insect control to help protect your crop from damaging pests all season long.

Corn with bt-trait technology offers growers more options for managing pests in order to reduce the stress on their crop and allow it to maximize its yield potential.