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Penn State Pheromone Formula Best at Luring Fall Armyworms in Northeast - April 2005
April 15, 2005
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Researchers at Penn State optimized a commercial pheromone lure to trap fall armyworms with improved precision, and now the technology is being used across three states in the northeast.
The fall armyworm is a significant pest of sweet corn and other vegetable crops. They typically over winter along the Gulf Coast and migrate into Pennsylvania in late July to mid-August. Regional monitoring programs are being developed to map the annual migration of the pest (http://www.pestwatch.psu.edu/). These monitoring programs map male moth captures from traps baited with sex pheromones.
Sex pheromone traps are commonly used in integrated pest management (IPM) systems. These traps allow a grower to determine the status of a pest population in the field. Armed with this knowledge, the grower can make better decisions, reducing pesticide sprays and improving profits.
IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible.
According to Shelby Fleischer, professor of entomology at Penn State and a researcher on the project, the majority of commercially available pheromone lures recruit large numbers of non-targeted species in the northeast. "This can dramatically compromise monitoring efforts of the fall armyworm," explains Dr. Fleischer.
Several other moths in the cutworm family look very similar to the fall armyworm, making identification of trapped pests even more difficult. "It is important to distinguish between the different species because while the fall armyworm is a significant pest of sweet corn, many other cutworm species feed only on grasses. High trapcounts of a non-targeted species may result in unnecessary pesticides sprays," says Fleischer.
In addition, fall armyworm larvae are difficult and expensive to control, making proper pest identification even more important. "Corn plants are often too tall to spray with conventional ground rigs and a large volume of water is usually needed," Dr. Fleischer explains.
Dr. Fleischer worked with Penn State researchers John Grehan, Chris Harding and Paul Blom; and Jeffrey White from private industry to compile specific features of different pheromone lures to develop new ones. "Through this process we determined that while the two-component lure captured smaller numbers of fall armyworms, it also captured far fewer non-targeted pests, making it the most promising lure for future development," Dr. Fleischer explains.
The pheromone lure, called the "FAW-PSU", is currently being used in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Maine. They are available for purchase through Scentry Biologicals, (800) 735-5323, or visit them on the Web at http://www.scentry.com/.
Complete results of the study can be found in the February 2005 edition of the Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. 98, no. 1. For more information on the study, contact Dr. Fleischer at (814) 863-7788 or e-mail sjf4@psu.edu. In addition, a fall armyworm fact sheet can be found at http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/armyworm/idfallarmyworm.htm.
The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or visit Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/. To view our archived news releases, see Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/10.htm.