Vegetable Crop Update: Sweet Corn, Bean and Pea Edition
Elaine Roddy, Vegetable Crops Specialist|
OMAFRA, Ridgetown.

• Common Armyworm & Cutworms  
• Integrated Pest Management Training  
• New Herbicide tank-mix for Sweet Corn

Common Armyworm & Cutworms

Common armyworm moths were caught in black light traps in both Harrow and Ridgetown last week.  While common armyworm can over winter in Ontario, local populations are often augmented by moths from the Southern States.  Spring storm fronts often carry pests such as the armyworm and cutworm moths long distances, depositing them in the Great Lakes basin.

Both cutworm and armyworm moths are attracted to green vegetation.  Winter annuals, cover crops and cereal crops can all harbour these pests.  An early burn-down of weedy fields can help to prevent cutworm problems in later planted vegetables.  

Where vegetables are planted in close proximity to fields with high populations of winter annuals, cover crops or cereals, monitor the fields regularly for signs of larval feeding throughout late May and June.  Armyworm in particular will move into vegetable fields after a burn down herbicide is applied or as the cereal crops dry down.

Integrated Pest Management Training

A sweet corn, bean and pea scout training session will be held on May 12, 2009 at the Woodstock OMAFRA office.  This session will include information on biology, identification, scouting and pheromone trapping of all of the major sweet corn, bean and pea pests.  Participants will receive a free copy of the new Ontario CropIPM CD (OMAFRA publication # AF141)

The session runs from 9am to 3pm (lunch on your own).  To register please contact the Brighton Resource Centre at 613-475-1630 or the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300.  There is no registration fee.

New Herbicide tank-mix for Sweet Corn

An Impact + atrazine (topramezone + atrazine) tank-mix is now registered for the control of annual broadleaf and grassy weeds in sweet corn.  Apply Impact + atrazine when the corn is at the 1 to 7-leaf stage, broadleaf weeds are at the 1 to 8-leaf stage and grass weeds are at the 1 to 4-leaf stage.

Sweet and seed corn cultivars may vary in their tolerance to herbicides. Since not all sweet corn cultivars have been tested for tolerance to a tank mix of topramezone + atrazine, first use should be limited to a small area of each cultivar to confirm tolerance prior to adoption as a general field practice. Additionally, consult your seed supplier for information on the tolerance of specific cultivars of sweet and seed corn to the tank mix of IMPACT Herbicide + atrazine.

For a copy of the Impact label contact: Elaine Roddy 519 674 1616.